(Greenwich Merchant Bank): After five (5) consecutive bearish runs, the NSE-ASI advanced by 0.41%, thanks to price gains in DANGCEM (+3.8%), MTNN (+1.2%) and GUINNESS (+10.0%). As such, the YtD return settled at -3.9%.
In the same vein, the activity level improved as the volume and value of transactions rose 19.7% and 67.1%, respectively. UBA topped the volumes’ chart with 24.4mn units (11.0%), while NOTORE led the values’ chart with NGN959.6mn (22.8%). However, market breadth settled at 0.55x, reflecting eleven (11) gainers and twenty (20) losers.
Read: Nigeria’s Inflation rate hits 17.33%, the highest in four years
Again, performance at the sectorial front was uneven as the Industrial Goods (+1.7%) and Consumer Goods (+0.2%) sectors gained, while the Banking (-3.5%) and Insurance (-1.1%) sectors declined, leaving the Oil & Gas sector flat.
Despite the plunge in the Banking sector due to the price depreciations in GUARANTY and ZENITHBANK, the local bourse posted positive gains, on the back of buying pressures in the market’s heavy-weights; DANGCEM and MTNN. We expect sentiment should remain positive across fundamentally sound and low-priced counters, although with pockets of profit-taking.
