NSE Opens Positive as Earnings Season Boosts Investors Sentiment
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) opened positive on Monday on improved sentiment as companies begin to release third quarter earnings results.
At the close of trade, the local bourse closed northward as investors took position in DANGCEM (+0.7%), ETI (+7.7%) and GUARANTY (+0.7%).
As a result, the NSE All-Share Index (ASI) rose 28 basis points to 28,777.96 points while year to date return improved to 7.2%.
Consequently, equities investors gained ₦42.3 billion as market capitalisation increased to ₦15 trillion.
Activity level strengthened as volume and value traded advanced 20.4% and 25.6% to 340.8m units and ₦5.6 billion respectively.
The most traded stocks by volume were GUARANTY (56.8m units), ZENITH (47.8m units) and WAPIC (40.0m units).
Meanwhile GUARANTY (₦1.7bn), DANGCEM (₦1.0bn) and ZENITH (₦1.0bn) led by value.
Performance across sectors was bullish as 4 of 6 indices under Afrinvest coverage closed in the green.
The Banking index gained the most, up 1.0% due to buying interest in ETI (+7.7%), GUARANTY (+0.7%) and UBA (+2.1%).
Similarly, the Industrial Goods and Oil & Gas indices rose 0.4% and 0.1% respectively following price upticks in DANGCEM (+0.7%) and OANDO (+0.9%).
Then, price appreciation in ETRANZAC (+7.7%) drove the AFR-ICT index marginally higher by 3bps.
Conversely, the Insurance and Consumer Goods indices declined 1.0% and 0.3% respectively as a result of sell pressures in WAPIC (-7.5%), CHIPLC (-8.8%), NASCON (-8.4%) and INTBREW (-4.6%).
Investor sentiment as measured by market breadth declined to 1.8x from the 3.3x recorded previously as 27 stocks gained against the 15 that declined.
CUSTODIAN (+10.0%), NPFMCRFBK (+9.7%) and ETRANZAC (+7.7%) were top gainers while MORISON (-10.0%), CHIPLC (-8.8%) and NASCON (-8.4%) led the laggards.
“We expect the performance of the equities market to be dictated by the earnings result”, Afrinvest said.
Read Also: Equities Market Trades Flat over Waning Investors Sentiment
