NSE LIVE! Bargain-hunting spur Nigerian equities amidst global rally

Investors in quoted equities globally showed improved risk appetite as market pundits look beyond immediate concerns to medium-term stimulus that could boost economic performance.

Nigerian equities, which had lost N1.34 trillion in November, rode on the back of sustained bargain-hunting to trade in the positive in four out of the five trading sessions last week.

With several share prices at historic lows at the Nigerian stock market, investors increased demand and tightened up supply, closing major transactions at premium. The upbeat at the Nigerian market was particularly driven rallies within the oil and gas and financial services industry.

Gains by highly capitalised banking and oil and gas stocks moderated and overshadowed equally wide losses recorded across many sectors.

Aggregate market value of all quoted equities on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) rose from the week’s opening value of N8.855 trillion to close at N8.883 trillion, representing a week-on-week gain of N28 billion.

The All Share Index (ASI), the value-based common index that tracks prices at the Exchange, also recorded an average week-on-week return of 0.30 per cent, rising from the opening index of 25,740.83 points to close the week at 25,817.69 points.

Sectoral indices showed a largely positive stock market. The NSE 30 Index, which tracks the 30 most capitalised companies in Nigeria, rose by 0.44 per cent. The NSE Oil and Gas Index appreciated by 7.74 per cent.

The NSE Banking Index rose by 0.51 per cent while the NSE Insurance Index rallied by 0.44 per cent. However, the NSE Consumer Goods Index and the NSE Industrial Goods Index declined by 0.78 per cent and 3.33 per cent respectively.

Forte Oil led the 27-stock gainers’ list last week with a gain of 62.8 per cent to close at N106.23. Portland Paints and Products Nigeria followed with a gain of 26.5 per cent to close at N2.29. Transnational Corporation of Nigeria rallied by 19.7 per cent to 85 kobo. FBN Holdings rose by 10.8 per cent to close at N3.50 while Total Nigeria gained 10.1 per cent to close at N276.05 per share.

On the other hand, Guinness Nigeria led the 36-stock losers’ list with a loss of 12.5 per cent to close at N77.90. Neimeth International Pharmaceutical, Avon Crowncaps and Lafarge Africa declined by 9.1 per cent each to close at 60 kobo, N1.20 and N38.82 respectively while UACN Property Development Company dropped by 8.97 per cent to close at N2.03.

Total turnover last week stood at 894.759 million shares worth N10.629 billion in 13,418 deals as against a total of 2.479 billion shares valued at N9.988 billion traded in 12,059 deals in the previous week. The financial services sector accounted for 695.612 million shares valued at N2.542 billion in 6,978 deals, representing 77.7 per cent of the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

Read also: NSE LIVE! High-cap stocks rally equities to N22bn gain

The consumer goods sector followed with 71.988 million shares worth N5.956 billion in 2,362 deals while conglomerates sector placed third with a turnover of 56.868 million shares worth N112.727 million in 717 deals.

The three most active stocks were Diamond Bank Plc, Wema Bank Plc and FCMB Group Plc, which altogether accounted for 381.114 million shares worth N299.228 million in 1,202 deals, contributing 42.6 per cent and 2.82 per cent of the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

Also traded during the week were a total of 2,850 units of Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) valued at N355, 162 in 21 deals, compared with a total of 2,340 units valued at N39,848 traded in 15 deals two weeks ago. There were no transactions in the debt market.

Globally, quoted equities were mostly on the upbeat. From the advanced markets of Europe and America to the emerging markets of Asia and Africa, investors were upbeat on the prospects of quoted equities. In United States of America, both the NASDAQ Index and S & P 500 Index closed higher.

Europe was also trending with the CAC Index of France rising by 1.0 per cent. Germany’s DAX rallied by 2.5 per cent. In Asia, Hong Kong’s HANG SENG Index appreciated by 0.7 per cent. Japan’s NIKKEI Index rose by 0.2 per cent while China’s composite index also closed higher.

Market analysts said they expected the market to sustain modest rally, although the outlook for the market remains tenuous. End-of-year positioning is expected to boost the market performance in December.

 

 

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