Nigeria’s equities market decreased further by 0.11percent or N62billion on Tuesday, March 19 as more investors moved into the market to take profit after last week’s rally pushed stocks aggregate value higher by N2.12trillion.
At the close of trading, the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) All-Share Index (ASI) and equities market capitalisation decreased further from preceding trading day’s highs of 104,663.34 points and N59.177trillion respectively to 104,553.31 points and N59.115trillion.
Futureview Research analysts in their March 19 stock recommendation said they anticipate a mixed performance in the upcoming trading session “as investors assimilate new inflation data and await corporate actions within the equities market.”
Fidson Healthcare Plc decreased most, from N16 to N15, down by N1 or 6.25percent. CWG dipped from N6.05 to N5.50, losing 55kobo or 9.09percent, while UPDC REIT was down from N5.50 to N5.15, shedding 35kobo or 6.36percent.
Rising food prices pushed Nigeria’s inflation to 31.70 percent in February, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) – the country’s statistics agency – reported recently. The Consumer Price Index report released by the NBS showed that prices rose by 1.80 percent to 31.70 percent in February 2024, compared with 29.90 percent in January.
“Our recommendation to investors is to consider allocating capital towards high-quality stocks supported by strong fundamentals,” Futureview Research analysts noted further.
The stock market’s year-to-date (YtD) return stood lower at 39.83percent. This month, the market has increased by 4.57percent despite a decline by 0.51 percent week-to-date (WtD).
In 9,548 deals, investors exchanged 307,046,702 shares worth N7.593billion. FBN Holdings, UBA, Access Holdings, Transcorp and Fidelity Bank were actively traded.
“We expect mixed sentiments towards the equities market, with bearish sentiment persisting at the background, given the elevated interest rate regime. “However, we expect solid corporate actions and fundamentals to continue to spur pockets of bargain hunting activities among investors,” according to analysts at Lagos-based United Capital.
Transcorp Hotels Plc notified the investing public and the Nigerian Exchange Limited that the Board of Directors of the company on March 5, 2024 approved the appointment of Oluwatoyin Madein as a Non-Executive Director.
Madein represents the interest of one of the Company’s significant shareholders, the Ministry of Finance Incorporated, on the Board. Madein is currently the Accountant-General of the Federation and has served variously as Assistant Director, Deputy Director and Director, Finance and Account in the Federal Civil Service.
The investing public and the Nigerian Exchange Limited were also notified that the Board of Directors of Transcorp Power Plc has approved the appointment of Charles Chiedu Odita as an Independent Non-Executive Director. Odita has an extensive professional experience spanning over 40 years, with over 30 of those years spent in senior and executive level positions in the Oil & Gas industry. He is currently the Managing Director/Chief Consultant of Tibco Limited.
