Equities Market To Experience Mixed Performance This Week

Analysts anticipate mixed performance on the Nigerian equities market this week amidst portfolio rebalancing.

In the just-concluded week, the stock market saw mixed sentiment as this move took the index further away from the 100,000-point mark, reflecting investors’ caution amid ongoing economic challenges and policy shifts by both the fiscal and monetary authorities.

The week was marked by fluctuating trading patterns across sectors, with the Industrial and Consumer Goods indices particularly impacted. Investors remained on edge due to concerns over inflation, fuel price hikes, and the potential effects of fiscal policies on critical sectors.

Analysts Optimism
Looking ahead to the new week, Cowry Assets Management Limited said, “mixed sentiment is expected to persist as portfolio rebalancing continues. Despite the recent downturn, a near-term rebound is anticipated, although investor sentiment is expected to remain cautious.
“The release of October’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures by the National Bureau of Statistics could further weigh on market sentiment, with persistent inflationary pressures and potential currency volatility keeping investors on the edge. As a result, we advise investors to focus on fundamentally sound stocks while remaining mindful of broader economic conditions.”
However, analysts at Afrinvest Limited noted that, “in the new week, we expect interest in the ongoing right issue as well as investors positioning in tickers with positive earnings to drive performance towards the green territory.”

Last Week’s Trading Activities
Buy interest dominated the equities market in three of the five trading sessions. Nevertheless, the All-Share Index returned negative, down by 0.20 per cent week-on-week (W-o-W) to close at 97,236.19 points. Also, market capitalisation lost N118 billion W-o-W to close at N58.920 trillion.

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Despite this overall weak performance, some sectors outperformed the broader market. The NGX Oil & Gas index gained 5.43 per cent W-o-W. The NGX Banking index rose by 2.81 per cent, while the NGX Insurance and NGX Consumer Goods indices recorded a gain of 0.11 per cent and 0.02 per cent for the week. On the flip side, the NGX Industrial Goods index experienced notable sell-offs, down by 0.02 per cent for the week.

The market breadth for the week was negative as 31 equities appreciated in price, 42 equities depreciated in price, while 79 equities remained unchanged. Eunisell Interlinked led the gainers table by 45.91 per cent to close at N8.20, per share. John Holt followed with a gain of 45.76 per cent to close at N4.81, while Conoil went up by 37.35 per cent to close to N260.00, per share.

On the other side, Oando led the decliners table by 21.97 per cent to close at N69.95, per share. Abbey Mortgage Bank followed with a loss of 18.15 per cent to close at N2.66, while Deap Capital Management & Trust declined by 14.40 per cent to close at N1.07, per share.

Overall, a total turnover of 6.468 billion shares worth N75.745 billion in 48,804 deals was traded last week by investors on the floor of the Exchange, in contrast to a total of 2.717 billion shares valued at N54.632 billion that exchanged hands previous week in 46,848 deals.

The Financial Services Industry led the activity chart with 5.666 billion shares valued at N44.263 billion traded in 23,268 deals; contributing 87.60 per cent and 58.44 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

The Oil and Gas Industry followed with 245.722 million shares worth N15.877 billion in 9,057 deals, while the Agriculture Industry traded a turnover of 216.422 million shares worth N1.087 billion in 1,653 deals.
Trading in the top three equities; Sovereign Trust Insurance, Consolidated Hallmark Holdings and United Bank for Africa (UBA) accounted for 3.839 billion shares worth N20.905 billion in 5,652 deals, contributing 59.36 per cent and 27.60 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.