The domestic equities market of the Nigerian Stock Exchange maintained its bullish performance on the back of sustained buying interest in DANGCEM (+2.3%), NESTLE (+6.0%) and SEPLAT (+6.1%) as market capitalisation increased by N253.7bn to close at N12.1tn.
Consequently, the All Share Index (ASI) rose 2.1% to 32,462.3 points while Year To Date gain improved to 3.2%.
Activity level also improved as volume and value traded for the day increased by 5.5% and 42.2% to 580.4m units and N8.0bn respectively.
The most traded stocks by volume were DIAMOND (125.8m units), ZENITH (63.2m units) and GUARANTY (57.1m units) while for the most traded stocks by value, GUARANTY (N2.2bn), ZENITH (N1.6bn) and DANGCEM (N1.5bn) were the top stocks.
Across sectors, performance remained bullish with 4 of 5 indices advancing. The Oil and Gas index gained the most, up 4.1% following price appreciation in SEPLAT (+6.2%) and OANDO (+7.1%).
The Consumer Goods and Banking indices trailed, up 4.0% and 1.3% respectively as investors rallied in NESTLE (+6.0%), NIGERIAN BREWERIES (+2.3%), UBN (+9.6%), and ETI (+3.2%).
Similarly, the Industrial Goods index advanced, albeit flattish, up 3bps due to gains in DANGCEM (+2.3%) and WAPCO(+4.2%). On the flip side, the Insurance index pared gains, down 0.2% due to profit taking in AIICO (-5.2%) and PRESTIGE (-3.9%).
Investor sentiment as measured by market breadth strengthened to 2.7x from 1.3x recorded the previous session consequent on 38 stocks advancing against 14 that declined. The top gainers for the day were JAIZ (+10.0%), LIVESTOCK (+10.0%) and DANGFLOUR (+10.0%) while REGALINS (-8.0%), UACPROP (-7.9%) and LASACO (-6.1%) led laggards.
Analyst at Afrinvest said: “In recent weeks, we have observed increased inflow into the domestic market despite the political risk. We believe concerns for post-election stability are beginning to moderate thus the increased appetite for cheap assets. Hence we expect the market to record gains in the near-term.”
