Stock market analysts stated that the market may close positive this week as the year 2021 comes to an end.
The week is going to have a three-day trading session as the federal government declared Monday and Tuesday December 27th and 28th, 2021 as public holidays to mark Christmas and Boxing Day celebration.
Analysts Optimism
Analysts at Cordros Securities Limited said: “as the year draws to a close, we expect yield-seeking investors to take positions in stocks with attractive dividend yields ahead of the 2021 full year dividend declarations. However, we advise investors to take positions in only fundamentally justified stocks as the weak macro environment remains a significant headwind for corporate earnings.”
Also, Cowry Assets Management Limited said: “in the new week, we expect the local bourse to be bullish as investors position in dividend-paying stocks in the last three days of trading session in 2021.”
However, analysts at Afrinvest Limited said: “in the last trading week of the year, we expect the market to extend this week’s negative performance as investors rebalance their portfolio.”
Last Week’s Trading Activities
The domestic bourse last week closed in negative territory ahead of Christmas celebration. This was contrary to the usual Santa Clause rally that the domestic stock market experiences yearly.
The bears dictated proceedings in the market, as profit-taking activities dominated market performance, with the benchmark index recording declines on three of the five trading sessions of the week. Precisely, the All-share Index (ASI) declined by 90.46 points or 0.21 per cent to close at 42,262.85 points. Similarly, market capitalisation dropped N47 billion week-on-week (W-o-W) to N22.060 trillion.
However, the sector gauges did not mirror the benchmark index as four of the five sub-indices tracked closed in green. The NGX Banking, NGX Insurance, NGX Consumer Goods and the NGX Industrial indices gained 0.10 per cent, 1.85 per cent, 0.78 per cent and 0.43 per cent to close at 395.76 points, 194.46 points, 554.68 points and 2,090.00 points respectively. However, the NGX Oil & Gas index fell by 0.52 per cent to close at 348.81 points.
The market breadth for the week was positive as 33 equities appreciated in price, 25 equities depreciated in price, while 99 equities remained unchanged. Mutual Benefits Assurance led the gainers table by 23.08 per cent to close at 32 kobo, per share. Consolidated Hallmark Insurance followed with a gain of 20.69 per cent to close at 70 kobo, while Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) went […]