Nigeria’s equities market consolidates gains, index up 0.54% despite banking index poor performance

The Nigerian equities market extended gains at the close of Tuesday’s trade with all-share index expanding 0.5 percent to settle at 36,680.3 points while year-to-date return advanced to 36.5 percent.

To this end, market capitalization gained N67.8 billion to close at N12.7 trillion.

The day’s positive performance could be largely attributed to price appreciations in DANGCEM (+2.3%), NESTLE (+1.8%) and SEPLAT (+3.1%). Similarly, activity level strengthened as volume and value traded improved 48.1 percent and 67.5 percent to 259.1 million units and N3.1 billion respectively.

The industrial goods index led performers, up 1.1 percent due to gains in DANGCEM (+2.3%) just as the oil & gas and insurance indices trailed closely with 1.0 percent and 0.9 percent respectively, driven by rally in SEPLAT (+3.1%) and MANSARD (+4.1%).

Equally, the consumer goods index (+0.2%) closed in the green on the back of price appreciation in NESTLE (+1.8%). However, the banking index was a lone loser, down 0.9 percent as investors took profit in ZENITH (-2.0%).

Investor sentiment as measured by the market breadth (advancers/decliners ratio) strengthened to 0.9x (from 0.8x recorded the previous day) consequent on 24 stocks advancing against 26 decliners.

The top performing stocks were FIDSON (+5.0%), FLOURMILL (+5.0%) and CAP (+5.0%) while FIDELITY (-6.2%), BETAGLAS (-5.0%) and AIRSERVICE (-5.0%) were the worst performing stocks.

Analysts attribute the day’s positive performance to renewed confidence in bellwethers following a broadly strong earnings season and that given improving breadth and strengthening activity level, they expect performance and sentiment to remain positive in subsequent trading session.

On back of reforms, Nigeria leaps 24 places to 145 in World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings

Nigeria to raise monthly VAT collection to N100bn, collects N797.51bn year to date

At the global level, European stocks closed higher after a day’s trading in which investors digested a fresh batch of corporate earnings and watched the political fallout of Catalonia’s independence row.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed up 0.33 percent Tuesday afternoon, with most sectors and major bourses in positive territory

Corporate earnings season continues in full swing, with several companies posting their latest figures

Markets in Asia closed mixed on Tuesday as investors in the region digested the release of China’s official Purchasing Managers’ Index and the Bank of Japan’s rates decision. Wall Street had closed lower Monday on news that planned stateside tax cuts could be gradually implemented.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 pared losses to close flat at 22,011.61. Financial stocks recorded losses of more than 1 percent while tech shares were mixed: Mitsubishi UFJ closed down 2.57 percent, Nomura Holdings tumbled 2.71 percent and Sony rose 2.39 percent.

Equally of note is that the Bank of Japan Tuesday kept its monetary policy steady after a two-day meeting. The central bank said it would maintain the short-term interest rate at -0.1 percent.