Seplat’s oil-induced rally spurs NSE’s positive start to new week

Nigeria’s stock market opened this new on a positive note, rising by 0.33 percent due to increased demand for stocks like Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc, Japaul Gold, Mutual Benefit and AIICO.

No doubt investors are buying Seplat stocks due to cheering news at the crude oil market. On Monday, oil prices rose to their highest in more than a year after a Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen said it intercepted an explosive-laden drone fired by the Iran-aligned Houthi group, raising fears of fresh Middle East tensions. Also, hopes for more U.S. stimulus and an easing of coronavirus lockdowns helped support the rally, after crude prices gained around 5percent last week.

Brent crude was up 66 cents, or 1.1percent, at $63.09 a barrel on Monday, after climbing to a session high of $63.44, the highest since January 22, 2020

Following significant sell pressure witnessed last week which impacted negatively on the prices of most mid/large cap stocks, it is expected that investors will start to cherry-pick attractive counters due to cheap valuations.

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The record positive on Monday moderated February’s negative return to -4.34percent but increased the year-to-date (YtD) positive return to 0.75percent.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index (ASI) and Market Capitalisation which opened the day’s trading at 40,439.85 points and N21.156 trillion respectively increased to 40,571.67 points and N21.224trillion.

Equities value rose by N68billion, thanks to Seplat which rallied from N495 to N544.5, after adding N49.5 or 10percent.

Other gainers are Japaul Gold which increased from 71kobo to 78kobo, adding 7kobo or 9.86percent, Mutual Benefit which rallied from 42kobo to 46 kobo, adding 4kobo or 9.52percent, and AIICO which rose from N1.08 to N1.18, adding 10kobo or 9.26percent.

Stock market watchers still believe that despite the green close on Monday February 15, the continued rise in yields of short-dated instruments in the fixed income (FI) market remains a threat in the short term –triggering need for cautious trading.

In 4,264 deals, investors exchanged 206,243,282 units valued at N2.163billion. Zenith Bank, Mutual Benefit, UAC Properties, Fidelity and United Capital were actively traded stocks on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).