As equities dealers prepare for trading in this new week, Nigeria’s stock market may witness a mix of bargain hunting and profit taking activities.
While some analysts foresee pressured equities market in the near term due to the absence of positive catalysts that could drive a rally, others believe that the attractiveness of a number of fundamentally sound stocks trading at their new lows may trigger some buying interest.
“In our opinion, risks remain on the horizon due to a combination of the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in Nigeria and weak economic conditions. Thus, we continue to advise investors to trade cautiously and seek trading opportunities in only fundamentally justified stocks”, said research analysts at Cordros Capital.
The continued spread of COVID-19 has left a negative imprint on the revenue profile of oil producing countries like Nigeria. Likewise, the pandemic-induced lockdown in second quarter (Q2) helps in dampening investors expectations of increased earnings of listed companies that are expected to be released in the market soon.
“In the absence of any positive market catalyst, we expect the market to remain pressured in the near term, though the attractiveness of a number of fundamentally sound stocks may spur some buying interest”, said research analysts at Vetiva Securities.
Last week, the equities market maintained its bearish performance amidst weak investors confidence and persistent uncertainties in the global and domestic space. Stock investors booked about N11billion loss in the remote trading week ended Friday July 17 after sessions of bargain hunting and profit taking in notable counters.
All NSE sectoral indices closed last trading week in red except that of NSE Industrial Goods which increased by +0.52 percent.
This month alone, the stock market has decreased by -0.78 percent while this year’s negative return stood at – 9.52 percent.
Twenty-six (26) equities appreciated in price during the review week, higher than 25 equities in the precedin week. Thirty-six (36) equities depreciated in price, higher than 33 equities in the preceding week, while 101 equities remained unchanged, lower than 105 equities recorded in the preceding trading week.
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index and Market Capitalisation depreciated by 0.08 percent to close the review trading week at
24,287.66 points and N12.669trillion respectively as against week open high of 24,306.36 points and N12.680 trillion.
The market recorded total turnover of 1.016 billion shares worth N7.436 billion exchanged in 18,092 deals in contrast to a total of 901.542 million shares valued at N13.453 billion that exchanged hands the preceding week in 18,676 deals. The Financial Services industry (measured by volume) led the activity chart with 784.322 million shares valued at N3.305 billion traded in 10,592 deals
