Nigeria equities sustained steady but modest recovery across the markets as investors resumed from the Eid-ul-Kabir holiday to strong appetite for large-cap stocks.
After declining to their lowest levels in nearly a year, benchmark indices at the equities market sprang to a recovery in the latter half of the week.
The All Share Index (ASI)-the main index that tracks share prices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), rose by 0.45 per cent in the three-day trading session last week to close at 35,426.17 points as against its week’s opening index of 35,266.29 points. The Federal Government had declared a two-day holiday to celebrate Muslim’s main festival of Eid-ul-Kabir .
Aggregate market value of all quoted equities at the NSE also rose from its week’s opening value of N12.875 trillion to close the week at N12.933 trillion, representing net capital gain of N58 billion. The sustained recovery at the NSE helped to moderate the negative average year-to-date return for Nigerian equities to -7.37 per cent.
On the NASD OTC Securities Exchange Plc-the platform for trading in unlisted public companies, the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NASD USI) rallied by 1.0 per cent to close the week at 698.78 points as against 692.47 points recorded as index-on-board for the week. Total market capitalisation of securities listed on the NASD appreciated by N1.55 billion to close the week at N470.17 billion compared with the week’s opening value of N468.62 billion.
The rally at the market however remained narrow with continuing large selloffs within the small and mid-cap stocks. At the NSE, three out of every four deals still closed at lower prices while two in every three deals on the NASD closed at discount. Most sectoral indices closed negative, underlining the widespread price depreciation across the sectors.
The positive overall market position was largely driven by bargain-hunting in Dangote Cement- Nigeria’s most capitalised quoted company and Africa’s largest cement producer, which rose by 6.82 per cent to close at N235.
The NSE 30 Index-which tracks 30 most capitalised stocks at the NSE, declined by 0.48 per cent last week. The NSE Banking Index dropped by 3.04 per cent. The NSE Consumer Goods Index depreciated by 2.18 per cent while the NSE Oil and Gas Index dipped by 0.23 per cent. However, the NSE Industrial Goods Index rode on the back of gains by Dangote Cement to post a week-on-week return of 1.96 per cent while the NSE Insurance Index rallied […]
