After a negative close in the past two trading sessions, Nigeria’s equities market managed to close upward on Wednesday April 14.

Amid a mix of bargain hunting and sell pressure in some counters on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, investors raised bets in consumer goods stocks while banking, industrial goods, insurance and oil & gas stocks were on offer at the Bourse.

“Our view is that overall investor sentiment continues to be weak amid the improvements in bond yields”, Coronation Research analysts said in an April 13 note to investors.

Listed stocks value rose by N18billion at the close of trading on Wednesday, from a low of N20.202trillion to N20.220trillion.

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Likewise, the All Share Index of the NGX increased slightly by 0.09percent to 38,636.15 points, from preceding trading day low of 38,601.83 points.

The mild gain on Wednesday helped reduce the market’s negative return this week to -0.59percent, while month-to-date (MtD) equities negative return stood lower at -1.05percent. This year, the market has recorded negative return of 4.06percent.

“With our expectations for a mixed market having played out so far this week, we foresee further see-sawing activity in the market, as investors continue to take profit on gainers and cherry-pick losing stocks”, according to Lagos-based analysts at Vetiva Securities. They anticipate a similar trading pattern in Thursday’s  session, “barring any unexpected shocks”.

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Iheanyi Nwachukwu, is a creative content writer with almost two decades journalism experience writing on banking, finance, capital markets, and tax. The multiple awards winning journalist is Assistant Editor, BusinessDay. Iheanyi holds BSc Degree in Economics from Imo State University; Master of Science (MSc) Degree in Management from University of Lagos. Iheanyi has attended several work-related trainings including (i) Advanced Writing and Reporting Skills (Pan African University, Lagos); (ii) News Agency Journalism (Indian Institute of Mass Communication {IIMC}, New Delhi, India); and (iii) Capital Markets Development and Regulations (International Law Institute {ILI} of Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA). Other trainings Iheanyi attended include: Economic/Political Risk Analysis (By Thomson Reuters Foundation); International Financial Journalism (IFJ) (By PMA Media Training, UK); Effective Business Writing Skills (By Phillips Consulting); Reporting on Corporate Governance (By International Finance Corporation (IFC) & Thomson Reuters Foundation UK); etc. In addition, he has participated in high-level economy & markets events in Dubai, South Africa, Morocco, and other African countries like Zambia, Ghana and Gambia.

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