Julius Berger, RT Briscoe, others cause NGX to open week on negative note

Nigeria’s stock market decreased slightly by 0.04 percent on Monday as investor lock in profits after record rally last week that pushed the market value higher by N884billion.

Stocks like International Energy Insurance, RT Briscoe, and Julius Berger were major losers on Monday.

International Energy Insurance decreased from N2.50 to N2.25, losing 25kobo or 10 percent.

RT Briscoe, another major laggard was also down from N2.70 to N2.44, losing 26kobo or 9.63percent. Julius Berger was also down from N139.80 from N128, losing N11.80 or 8.44 percent.

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The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) All-Share Index (ASI) and equities Market Capitalisation decreased from preceding day’s 105,933.03 points and N65.592 trillion respectively to 105,891.33 points and N66.069 trillion.

The market’s year-to-date (YtD) return is in positive region of 2.88 percent. This month, the market has risen by 1.34 percent. In 17,843 deals, investors traded 567,288,779 shares worth N10.413billion. Secure Electronic Technology Plc, Fidelity Bank, Access Holdings, UPDC and AIICO were actively traded stocks on the Bourse.

“We anticipate a mixed market performance as investors lock in profits from recent gains. However, strategic positioning for dividend payouts amid strong earnings is expected to sustain market interest. Investors should balance short-term profit-taking with long-term value opportunities in fundamentally strong stocks,” Futureview analysts said.

“The equities market is expected to maintain its positive momentum as investors continue to position themselves ahead of the FY-2024 earnings season and possible corporate action declarations. “Nevertheless, given the elevated interest rate environment in the fixed-income market, we still expect bearish sentiments to linger in the background,” said United Capital Research analysts in their February 10 note.

“We expect the market to maintain its positive momentum, driven by bargain hunting and ongoing earnings releases. We expect investors to position in high performing sectors, particularly in expectation of dividend qualification.

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“Also, with continued moderation in fixed-income yields and a rotation of funds, we expect increased participation in the equities market. However, we acknowledge the potential for profit-taking on tickers that have recorded gains in recent weeks, which could introduce some volatility. Overall, we expect the local bourse to end the week in the green zone,” Meristem Research analysts said.