Bullish trend persists as gains extend into second week

The Nigerian equities market extended gains into the new week, closing 1.39 per cent in the green zone at the end of Monday’s trading. A positive close after Monday’s trading takes gains to 6 days. The banking sector advanced the most, gaining 2.9 per cent on the back of gains by Access Bank, UBA, Zenith and Union Bank.

The consumer goods sector also closed on a positive note, gaining 1.59 per cent. The oil and gas sector gained 0.42 per cent, while the industrial index gained 0.15 per cent. The insurance sector however retreated by -0.48 per cent. Trading activity indicated that the markets were slightly appeased, as the CBN moved to unify exchange rates by scrapping the retail Dutch auctions in favour of the interbank market. The move effectively devalued the Naira.

“We view the CBN decision as a bold and positive move and expect to see the Naira exchange rate fluctuate to its market-determined rate level,” said GTI Securities analysts on February 19. Market breadth showed that 26 stocks gained while 15 lost.

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Top gainers on Monday include Access Bank, which gained 8.7 per cent to close at N6.09 up from N5.60. Flour Mills gained 8.01 to close at N34, up from N31.48 the previous day. United Bank for Africa booked gains in its share price of 5.57 per cent to close at N3.60, up from N3.41. UACN closed at N35.70, gaining 5 per cent from its previous day close of N3.41.

Air service rounded the top 5 gainers list with a 5 per cent gain to close at N2.10, up from N2. Losers after Monday’s trading include Beta Glass, which lost 4.9 per cent to drop to N27.08, down from N28.50. Portland Paints shed 4.96 per cent to close at N3.83, down from N4.03. Red Star express lost 4.87 per cent to close at N3.71, down from N3.90. Continental Reinsurance lost 4.65 per cent to close at 82 kobo down from 86 kobo, and Golden Guinea breweries fell to 89 kobo from 93 kobo, losing 4.30 per cent.