NGX Expands to N38.6T as Equities Investors Gain N1.67T
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) recorded another big bang over its sustained sweet rallies on bellwether companies’ stocks. Last week, the local bourse expanded to about N38.6 trillion as equities investors gained N1.67 trillion.
The positive price movements consolidated on October performance, though some market analysts projected the booming exchange would slow down in November due to ongoing yield repricing in the fixed income market.
However, bargain hunting was launched first week of November 2023 as local investors’ interest in equities investment gathered further traction even with little support from foreign portfolio investors. The latest gain seen in the Exchange was spurred by positive sentiment from the earnings festival.
Third-quarter earnings announcements indicate that some companies are faced with macroeconomic uncertainties as the naira devaluation increases the number of broken balance sheets.
There are a number of others that rode the wave successfully, especially the banking names whose profit spiked significantly as a result of FX revaluation gains. Data from the NGX showed that the benchmark index advanced by 4.56% on a week-on-week basis, reaching a historic level of 70,196.77 points.
A slew of stockbroker said in their separate market updates that this marked a significant milestone, surpassing the psychological threshold of 70,000 considered a great feat for the exchange.
With about N1.7 trillion gain in four days of bullish outing out of five trading sessions, pushing the year-to-date return to 36.97%, racing ahead of an annual inflation rate of 26.72%.
The trading activity during the week painted a positive picture, with a 31.20% week-on-week increase in the weekly deal count, reaching 37,959 deals, according to Cowry Asset Limited.
The average traded volume also witnessed a significant surge of 69.52%, totalling 2.45 billion units, while the weekly average value increased by 59.61% week-on-week, amounting to N40.57 billion.
The market movers include AIRTELAFRI, SEPLAT, JAPAULGOLD, FBN Holdings, UBA, and STANBIC. Airtel Africa has a dual listing advantage for foreign investors seeking to rotate out of the local bourse. Other trend leaders include TANTALIZER and GEREGU PLC.
Conversely, ELLAHLAKES led the loser chart followed by RTBRISCOE, BETAGLASS, MEYER, and ABBEYBDS. On sectorial contribution, the Insurance, Banking, Industrial, and Consumer Goods indexes experienced week-on-week increases of 7.96%, 2.67%, 0.73%, and 0.47%, respectively.
However, the Oil & Gas index remained largely unchanged during the week, despite notable upticks in SEPLAT and ETERNA. Overall, the equities market increased by N1.67 trillion to ₦38.56 trillion. The exchange can hit N40 trillion market in 2023, according to analysts’ projections.
In October 2023 investor sentiment, as measured by market breadth, declined to 0.2x from 0.3x recorded in September as 55 stocks gained, 43 lost and 54 were unchanged.
The top performing stocks for the month were THOMASWY (+110.4%), CHAMS (+73.4%), and NNFM (+30.8%). Meanwhile, SOVRENINS (18.4%), CHIPLC (-18.3%), and PRESTIGE (-18.0%) were the top underperforming stocks. #NGX Expands to N38.6T as Equities Investors Gain N1.67T UBA Reiterates Commitment to SMES Financing to Boost Growth
