APT Securities and Funds Limited and nine others stockbroking firms have traded stocks worth N1.076 trillion in the first five months of the year according to data from the broker performance report by the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).
LEADERSHIP revealed that from January 4 to May 31, 2021, the top 10 stockbrokers on the Exchange traded 71.29 per cent of the total value of shares transacted in the period under review. They also traded 102.306 billion shares, representing 72.49 per cent of the total volume of shares traded on the NGX in five months.
Cardinalstone Securities Limited recorded the highest transactions worth N489.381 billion, representing 32.41 per cent of the total value of the transactions for the period. APT Securities and Funds followed with a transaction worth N150.009 billion, representing 9.94 per cent of the total value of transactions, while Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers pulled transaction worth N94.099 billion.
Meristem Stockbrokers sold stocks valued at N84.715 billion, while EFG Hermes Nigeria’ transaction valued at N62.953 billion in five months. Cordros Securities, Chapel Hill Denham Securities, CSL Stockbrokers, Rencap Securities and Morgan Capital Securities pulled transactions valued at N49.926 billion, N46.724 billion, N43.749 billion, N32.920 billion and N21.881 billion respectively.
Meanwhile, in terms of the volume of shares sold, Cardinalstone Securities came top with 70.045 billion shares sold, representing 49.63 per cent of the total volume of shares sold during the period. Chapel Hill Denham Securities followed with volume of 7.345 billion shares, while APT Securities and Funds handled volume of 5.039 billion shares.
Morgan Capital Securities pulled 4.754 billion, while CSL Stockbrokers transacted 4.030 billion shares from January to May, 2021.
Moreover, the stock market posted a year-to-date gain of 24.1 per cent as at May 31, 2022. So far this year, the Nigerian stock market has a bullish performance. The strong market sentiment was supported by the listing of Dangote Foods Plc, commencement of the PSB operation by MTN Nigeria and Airtel Africa, impressive corporate earnings releases, dividend payments, and low fixed-income yield environment.
Analysts at United Capital Plc noted that “the uptrend has been particularly driven by domestic institutional investors whose investment options have now been somewhat limited to the equities market. Since the turn of Q2, 2022, yields on domestic bonds have trended higher, causing Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to book mark-to-market losses (particularly those that mark-to-market their bond portfolios) on their bond positions (which constitutes c.60.0 per cent of their portfolios).
“Meanwhile, alternative outlets like Fixed deposits and Nigerian Treasury Bills (NT-bills) have continued to remain unattractive. On the other hand, we have seen listed companies return solid results in the Q1, 2022 earnings season. As a result, we have seen these institutional investors increase exposure to domestic equities, while reducing bond and other money market exposures,” they said.
On market outlook, the chief operating officer of InvestData Consulting Limited, Mr Ambrose Omordion said: “we expect a mixed trend in reaction to March year-end earnings report, as funds flow to the fixed income market on the rate hike by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Just as portfolio rotations persist as market players digest the macro-economic data and Q1 corporate earnings release, ahead of March year-end 2022 audited financials with dividend announcements to support uptrend in the new month amid the rebound in oil prices.
“Also, the market continues to interpret the rising inflation in relation to the crude oil price and other factors, in the midst of profit-taking and portfolio rebalancing. This will result in market players targeting fundamentally sound and dividend-paying stocks in the hope of dividend announcements.”
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