Nigerian Bourse Gains N34bn as Banks Stocks Rally
The equities segment of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) recorded about N34 billion gain as banking stock gained popularity among value hunters in the local bourse.
Keeping to the momentum, the Nigerian Exchange All-share index rose 0.1% last week to close at 52,465.31 points. As a result, market capitalisation expanded ₦33.6 billion to ₦28.6 trillion.
Trading data from the domestic bourse indicates that year-to-date return improved to 2.4% from 2.2% as investors continue to take positions as the stock market begins to rebound from the previous downturn.
Meanwhile, activity level faltered as average volume and value traded fell 79.4% and 58.3% week on week to 585.3 million and ₦5.3 billion, respectively.
The most traded stocks by volume were ACCESSCORP (712.6 million units), TRANSCORP (617.6 million units), and FIDELITY (111.8 million units), while ACCESSCORP (₦7.6 billion), ZENITH (₦2.0 billion), and GTCO (₦1.7 billion) led by value.
Afrinvest Limited said in its market review that performance across sectors under its coverage universe was impressive as 5 indices gained, while the Consumer Goods index closed flat.
The Banking and Oil & Gas indices rose 5.2% and 5.1% week on week respectively, due to a price uptick in ZENITH (+5.5%), WEMABANK (+16.6%), SEPLAT (+5.4%), and ARDOVA (+14.6%).
Stockbrokers spotted bargain hunting in WAPIC (+4.8%), MBENEFIT (+6.3%), and LINKASSURE (+6.1%) pushed the Insurance index up 0.3% week on week.
Also, the market recorded buying interest in MTNN (+0.1%), ETRANZACT (+9.4%), and WAPCO (+1.7%) driving the AFR-ICT and Industrial Goods indices up 0.1% apiece.
Investor sentiment, measured by market breadth, waned to 0.3x from 0.4x in the prior week, as 50 stocks gained, 25 lost while 77 closed flat.
CWG (+25.7%), ACADEMY (+20.0%), and WEMABANK (+16.6%) led the top gainers while TRANSCORP (-31.0%), MCNICHOLS (-17.7%), and GEREGU (-10.0%) led the decliners.
Projecting into the new week, stockbrokers at Afrinvest Limited expect the positive performance to persist as investors cherry-pick stocks with sound fundamentals. #Nigerian Bourse Gains N34bn as Banks Stocks Rally
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