NSE LIVE! Equities recover amidst renewed bargain-hunting

After two successive declines, Nigerian equities witnessed considerable bargain-hunting activities on Thursday as investors scouted for considerably undervalued banking and consumer goods stocks. Benchmark indices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) indicated an average gain of 0.75 per cent, equivalent to a gain of N69 billion.

The recovery, though modest, underlined optimism that sustained declines could lead to modest recovery this month as bargain-hunters seek to lock in into undervalued stocks with prospects for better yields. The recovery also helped to moderate the built-up losses over the previous two trading sessions. Aggregate market value of all quoted equities had dropped from N9.570 trillion on Monday to N9.466 trillion on Tuesday and closed Wednesday at N9.285 trillion.

With 25 gainers to 11 losers, aggregate market value of all quoted equities at the NSE rose to N9.354 trillion as against its opening value of N9.285 trillion. The All Share Index (ASI), the value-based common index that tracks prices of all quoted equities, rose by 0.75 per cent to close at 27,205.95 points as against its opening index of 27,004.50 points. The negative average year-to-date return moderated to -21.50 per cent.

Analysts at FSDH Securities said the market recovery was driven by renewed interests in banking stocks. The NSE Banking Index rose by 2.3 per cent while the NSE Consumer Goods Index appreciated by 2.0 per cent.

Analysts at Cowry Asset Management attributed the recovery to renewed bargain-hunting, citing the widespread positive sentiments across the sectors.

“The rebound today was in line with our expectation of bargain hunting after many value counters fell to year lows yesterday,” said analysts at Afrinvest Securities.

Nigerian Breweries, NSE’s second most capitalised stock, led the gainers with a gain of N4.30 to close at N116.31. Guinness Nigeria, the second most capitalised stock in the breweries sector, recorded a gain of N1.60 to close at N124.60. Presco added N1.30 to close at N32.30. Zenith Bank rose by N1.25 to close at N15.25. PZ Cussons Nigeria gathered 96 kobo to close at N27.46. Cadbury Nigeria rose by 93 kobo to close at N19.61. Seven-Up Bottling Company added 90 kobo to close at N182. Stanbic IBTC rallied 78 kobo to close at N16.85. International Breweries garnered 50 kobo to close at N16 while Nestle Nigeria rose by 27 kobo to close at N810.30.

The momentum of activities was low as caution continued to dominate transactions at the market. Total turnover stood at 179.05 million shares valued at N1.46 billion in 2,747 deals. Law and Union Rock Insurance was the most active stock with a turnover of 32.85 million shares valued at N21.09 million.

Analysts remained cautious about the short-term outlook of the market. “In our view, the fact that some stocks with low prices are still not generating enough buy-attractions suggests that aggregate market buy-appetite remains weak and the current positive sentiment might be short-lived. We continue to advise caution on the part of retail investors with a short holding period,” Afrinvest Securities stated.

On the downside, Dangote Cement led the decliners with a loss of N2.19 to close at N160. Fidson Healthcare and AXA Mansard Insurance dropped by 13 kobo each to close at N2.56 and N2.61 respectively. Cutix declined by 8.0 kobo to close at N1.64. Access Bank and Livestock Feeds lost 6.0 kobo to close at N4.85 and N1.36 respectively while Nigerian Aviation Handling Company dropped by 5.0 kobo to close at N3.53 per share.

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