… equities market gains N219bn

The bullish run in the domestic bourse was sustained yesterday as investors gained N219.8bn in value with market capitalization grew to N14.1tn.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All Share Index (ASI) rose 1.6% to settle at 39,042.11 points while YTD return strengthened to 2.1%. Buying interest in DANGCEM (+4.0%), ETI (+4.5%) and STANBIC (+3.0%) propelled today’s positive performance.

Similarly, activity level increased as the volume and value traded improved by 25.2% and 14.2% to 492.0m units and N7.6bn respectively. Today’s top traded stocks by volume were WAPIC (118.4m), GUARANTY (106.1m) and DIAMOND (33.7m) whileGUARANTY (N4.5bn), NIGERIAN BREWERIES (N759.1m) and ZENITH (N416.0m) were the top traded stocks by value.

Sector performance was mixed as 3 of 5 indices tracked closed in the green. The Industrial Goods index topped the gainers chart for the third consecutive session, up 3.7% on account of gains in DANGCEM (+4.0%) and WAPCO (+4.7%).

Investor sentiment as measured by market breadth (advance/decline ratio) weakened to 1.5x from 2.6x in the prior session as 29 stocks advanced in contrast to 19 stocks that declined.

The top performing stocks were NASCON (+10.1%), JAPAULOIL (+7.4%) andCADBURY (+4.8%) while ETERNA (-5.0%), CONTINSURE (-4.7%) and PRESTIGE(-4.2%) were the worst performing stocks. We expect the market to close the week in the green as sustained bargain hunting by investors continues to keep performance upbeat.