Stock market see slight dips during early trading on Monday

Nigeria’s equities market was seen slightly in the negative region during early trading (11.30am) on Monday confirming some analysts expectation that the bearish sentiment will persist ahead of MPC decisions.

“We still anticipate another rocky trading week this week, as market participants look forward to the first MPC meeting for the year,” said Lagos-based Vetiva research analysts. They noted that the market had recorded positive sentiment on Friday’s close as it appeared “slightly stable following the rate hikes in the fixed income space.”

As at 11.30am on Monday, the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) All-Share Index (ASI) and Market Capitalisation decreased by 0.02percent, from preceding trading day’s 102,088.07 points and N55.861trillion to 101,983.19 points and 102,074.35 points and N55.853trillion. In 4,216 deals, investors exchanged 65,651,709 shares valued at N1.228billion.

“We anticipate the bearish sentiments amongst investors to persist in the local equities market given the recent developments in the fixed-income market.

“The impact of the high yields in the fixed-income market will continue to drive sell-offs as investors switch their asset classes to less risky assets,” according to Lagos-based United Capital research analysts.

They noted that other headwinds to the equities market are the uncertainties surrounding interest rate decision and the possible hike in Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) at their meeting scheduled for today Monday, February 26 and Tuesday February 27.