The Nigerian stock market gained N6 billion, even as Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) maintained status quo.
The MPC voted unanimously to maintain the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 11.5 per cent at its concluded meeting. Similarly, the Committee also voted to retain the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) at 27.5 per cent, liquidity ratio at 30.0 per cent and asymmetric corridor around the MPR at +100bps/-700bps.
The All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 11.24 absolute points, representing a growth of 0.02 per cent to close at 45,939.51 points.
Similarly, the overall market capitalisation size gained N6 billion to close at N24.755 trillion.
The upturn was impacted by gains recorded in large and medium capitalised stocks, amongst which are; SEPLAT Energy, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), Champion Breweries, Nigerian Exchange (NGX) and Red Star Express.
Analysts at Cordros Securities Limited stated that, “since the start of the year, the performance of the equities market has been broadly positive as the ASI returned 7.5 per cent as at January 24, 2022.
“With domestic investors being the dominant players in the market, we believe the wave of sell-offs across global stocks will have a limited impact on the local bourse. As such, we expect sentiments to remain positive until yields begin to rise in the fixed income market.
“Consequently, we see scope for the market to sustain the positive performance in Q1, 2022, given investors’ positioning in dividend-paying stocks ahead of 2021 full year dividend declarations and bargain hunting activities in value stocks with sound fundamentals.”
As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was positive as 20 stocks gained relative to 15 losers. Courteville Business Solutions recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent to close at 55 kobo, per share. ETI followed with a gain 9.94 per cent to close at N9.95, while Academy Press rose by 9.72 per cent to close at 79 kobo, per share.
Champion Breweries went up by 8.05 per cent to close at N2.55, while Regency Alliance Insurance appreciated by 5.26 per cent to close at 40 kobo, per share. On the other hand, C & I Leasing led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent to close at N3.78, per share. Prestige Assurance followed with a decline of 9.80 per cent to close at 46 kobo, while Cornerstone Insurance shed 3.77 per cent to close at 51 kobo, per share.
Mutual Benefits Assurance lost 3.70 per cent to close at 26 kobo, while UPDC Real Estate Investment […]
