NSE daily report: Market gains 0.36% on a day dominated by surging Insurance Stocks

Today’s trading session on the floor of The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) was dominated by surging Insurance Stocks, albeit contributing little in the 0.36% advancement of the benchmark NSE All-Share Index (NSE ASI). The little contribution of the Insurance Stocks to the overall index performance is because of the low capitalization of the Insurance Stocks.

N75.906 billion was added to the market capitalization, pushing it to close the trading session at N21.069 billion.

Only one of the highflyers we have been tracking since December continued its relentless march forward; JAPAULGOLD gained maximum 9.43% to close at N1.16. The stock has now gained an incredible 364% since it began an ascent from N0.25.

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Other highflying stocks were identified and added to our tracking list over the weekend; Mutual Benefit Assurance Plc (MBENEFIT), Ardova Plc (ARDOVA), Regency Alliance Insurance Company Plc (REGALINS) and Royal Exchange Plc (ROYALEX).

All four of the stocks recorded maximum gains on Tuesday, and have all gained more than 20% week-on-week. MBENEFIT gained 10.00% to close at N0.33, ARDOVA gained 9.75% to close at N19.70, REGALINS gained 8.33% to close at N0.26 and ROYALEX gained 8.00% to close at N0.27.

FTNCOCOA lost 2.86% to close at N0.68, while BUACEMENT lost 0.12% to close at N79.90, both stocks will no longer be on our highflyer tracker.

Activity level

The activity level improved significantly; volume of stocks traded increased by 247.46%, while value of stocks traded increased by 220.11%. There were only 4.74% more deals done on Tuesday, than there was in the preceding session. 1.166 billion shares worth N7.969 billion were traded in 5,591 deals.

UPDCREIT (UPDC Real Estate Investment Trust) was the most traded security by volume, with 755.007 million units valued at N4.152 billion. The Trust accounted for more than 50% of both volume and value of the securities traded on Tuesday, 12th January 2020.

AXA Mansard Insurance Plc (MANSARD) was the second most traded stock by volume with 49.508 million shares, followed by TRANSCORP in third with 44.268 million shares.

UPDCREIT was also the most traded security by value, followed by MTNN and ZENITHBANK in second and third respectively.

N679.101 million worth of MTNN exchanged hands in 122 deals, while N425.754 million worth of ZENITHBANK was traded in 377 deals.

Performance of Indices

Three of the five indices under our watch advanced, while two declined.

1. Insurance Index advanced by 3.61% as multiple Insurance stocks enjoyed maximum gains; MANSARD (+9.6%), AIICO (+2.7%), MBENEFIT (+10.00%) amongst others
2. Industrial Goods Index advanced by 0.99% on the back of DANGCEM (+2.2%)
3. Consumer Goods Index advanced by 0.36% following gains in NASCON (+10.0%) and DANGSUGAR (+1.6%)
4. Oil & Gas Index declined by 0.05%, as investors sold-off OANDO (-5.4%)
5. Banking Index declined by 0.62% due to price weakness in GUARANTY (-1.1%) and UBA (-1.1%)

Investor Sentiment

Investor Sentiment as measured by market breadth increased to 1.3x from the 1.1x recorded in the preceding session as 26 stocks advanced against 20 decliners.

Top 5 gainers by percentage are;

1. MBENEFIT gained 10.00% to close at N0.33
2. NASCON gained 10.00% to close at N15.95
3. NIGERINS gained 10.00% to close at N0.22
4. OMATEK gained 10.00% to close at N0.22
5. ARDOVA gained 9.75% to close at N19.70

Top 5 loser by percentage are;

1. OANDO lost 5.41% to close at N3.50
2. UAC-PROP lost 4.76% to close at N0.80
3. DEAPCAP lost 4.76% to close at N0.20
4. COURTVILLE lost 4.35% to close at N0.22
5. WEMABANK lost 4.11% to close at N0.70

Outlook

We expect the subsequent trading sessions in the week to be influenced by bargain hunting and Investor’s positioning for dividends ahead of the earnings season.

By; Nnamdi M.