Nigerian Equity Markets | 22 June 2016: Strong Buying Interest Pushes Benchmark Index above 30,000 Points

LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa: The bullish run in the Nigerian equities market was extended today as sustained buying interest from investors lifted the All Share Index above the 30,000.00 points mark to an 8-month high. At the close of trade today, the Benchmark index appreciated 2.4% to 30,127.82 points, while YTD returns further advanced to +5.2%. Similarly, investors gained N242.2bn as market capitalisation rose to N10.3tn. Gains recorded in market bellwether stocks, namely GUARANTY (+5.2%), DANGCEM (+5.0%) and ZENITH (+3.8%) drove market performance. Activity level also strengthened as volume and value traded rose 1.6% and 16.8% to 541.9m units and N7.9bn respectively.

Oil & Gas Index Emerges Lone Decliner
Performance across sectors was broadly bullish today as all indices save for the Oil & Gas index closed in the green. The Oil & Gas index slid 0.3% on account of losses in MOBIL and SEPLAT, down 0.3% apiece. For the second consecutive session, the Banking index chaired sector gainers, up 2.9% as buy sentiment drove GUARANTY (+5.2%) and ZENITH (+3.8%) northwards. Similarly, the Consumer Goods index closed in the green, advancing 1.2% on the back of gains in NESTLE (+2.0%) and NIGERIAN BREWERIES (+0.9%). The Industrial Goods and Insurance indices followed suit, gaining 0.8% and 0.6% respectively.

Positive Sentiments Persist
Positive sentiments persisted today as investors remained bullish on equities. Consequently, market breadth settled at 1.9x following 31 stocks that advanced against 16 stocks that declined. The top gainers for today were GLAXOSMITH (+10.2%), TRANSCORP (+9.9%) and CHAMPION (+9.9%) while TRANSEXPRESS (-9.1%), CCNN (-6.9%) and WAPCO (-5.6%) were the biggest losers. Investors’ sentiment remains stoked by the increasing expectation of an influx of FPIs into the market. Nevertheless, there is a tendency for the bullish run to taper due to some end of the week profit taking by investors. Hence we suggest investors trade cautiously in the short term and seek best entry price.