NGX ASI crosses 80,000 mark as bargain hunting continues

Bargain hunting activities at the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) continued on Monday, pushing the benchmark performance indicator above 80,000 mark.

The market’s new high was driven by investors who bought shares of Julius Berger, Jaiz Bank, Lasaco and Cornerstone Insurance.

The market rose by 0.83 percent at the close of trading on Monday, the Index rose from 79,664.66 and N43.594 trillion respectively to 80,324.53 points and N43.957trillion.

The market has risen this year by 7.42 percent as investors position strategically ahead of full year results.

“In January 2024, we expect the bulls to prevail, as bargain hunting continues. Given the global developments across major central banks in advanced economies, high base expectations for inflation, and improved economic growth prospects, we expect the local bourse to record a positive performance this new week.

“Investors may continue to cherry-pick stocks with strong fundamentals, (value or growth). However, value stocks may be choice for dividend scouting investors, ahead of FY-2023 earnings season. At different intervals, we expect mild sell-offs, albeit insignificant,” United Capital research analysts said.

In 16,081 deals, investors exchanged 1,190,164,298 shares worth N15.256billion. Transcorp, FCMB Group, Fidelity Bank, Sterling Financial Holding Company and Unity Bank shares were mostly traded.

Julius Berger increased most from N42.50 to N46.75, up by N4.25 or 10 percent.

“We expect the equities market to record a positive performance this week, howbeit marginally. The bullish run which has extended for about ten consecutive weeks remains a driving force to spur buying activities this week.

“We also highlight that the market should respond positively to CBN’s recent efforts to clear outstanding FX backlogs. However, we note that tickers in some sectors, particularly the financial services sector gained significantly in the previous week.

“Thus, we do not rule out the possibility of profit-taking activities on these tickers during the week. Overall, we expect the NGX-ASI to close in the green zone this week, howbeit marginally,” said Meristem research analysts in their January 8 note.