Nigerian stocks gain N25bn in market cap as index rises 0.17% on buy interest in Dangote Cement

Nigeria’s equities market index rose marginally 0.17 percent Tuesday to close at 40,499.04 points as buy interest in Dangote stave it from going down; aside interest in DANGCEM, the NSEASI would have closed 25bps lower.

Consequently, market capitalization clawed back N25.2 billion from previous session loss of N150 billion to close N14.6 trillion while YTD return improved to 5.9 percent.

The day’s bullish performance was equally driven by buy interest in INTBREW (+4.8%) and ETI (+2.9%).

L-R: Oscar N. Onyema,chief executive officer, The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) presenting a replica of closing gong to
Patience Oniha, director general, Debt Management Office (DMO), during the Facts Behind the List of Federal Government Sukuk at the Exchange on Tuesday 10 April 2018.

Market activity level was mixed as volume traded rose 35.3 percent to 388.3 million units while value traded fell 14.3 percent to N4.2 billion. The top traded stocks for the day by volume were SOVRENINS (82.5m), ZENITH (50.0m) and SKYE (37.5m) while the top traded stocks by value were FLOURMILL (N1.2bn), ZENITH (N1.2bn) and GUARANTY (N361.3m).

Sector performance was mixed as three of the five indices under coverage closed southwards while two appreciated. The industrial goods index led gainers, up 2.8 percent on account of gains in DANGCEM (+1.2%) and WAPCO (+3.4%) while the consumer goods index gained 0.6 percent on account of price appreciation in INTBREW (+4.8%), DANGSUGAR (+2.6%) and NIGERIAN BREWERIES (+0.2%).

On the flipside, the banking index lost 1.5 percent as sell pressures in UBA (-6.8%), ZENITH (-2.0%) and GUARANTY (-1.2%) dragged the index lower. The insurance index trailed, shedding 0.1 percent as losses in AIICO (-4.3%) and LASACO (-4.9%) dragged performance.

Lastly, the oil & gas index declined 6bps following sell-offs in FORTE (-3.5%), ETERNA (-4.6%) and TOTAL (-1.2%) erasing gains in 11PLC (+5.0%).

Investor sentiment as measured by market breadth (advance/decline ratio) stayed flat at 0.6x consequent on 16 stocks advancing against 26 decliners. The top performing stocks today were JAPAULOIL (+8.2%), 11PLC (+5.0%) and STERLING (+5.0%) while UBA (-6.8%), WEMA (-4.9%), and LASACO (-4.9%) led the laggards for the day.

Following the rebound, analysts say they expect continued positive performance in the near term as attractive opportunities remain particularly in the banking sector.