…NGX-ASI drops by 0.24%
Nigeria’s equities market opened the new trading week in red, decreasing by 0.24 percent or N112billion at the close of trading on Monday.
Leading the league of major laggards are stocks like Transcorp Power and Julius Berger. Transcorp Power lost N33.50, from N335.20 to N301.70, down by 9.99 percent, while Julius Berger printed lower from N170.50 to N153.45, down by N17.05 or 10 percent.
The record negative on the Lagos Bourse was caused by sell pressure on consumer goods and industrial stocks despite rally in banking, insurance and oil & gas stocks.
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“We expect investors to brace for potential volatility … as mixed signals across sectors and a red start to September could keep the broader market under pressure this week,” according to Vetiva research analysts in their September 9 note ahead of trading.
The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) All Share Index (ASI) lowered to 96,206.46 points as against preceding day’s 96.433.53 points. The market’s return year-to-date (YtD) decreased to 28.66 percent. Listed stocks value decreased to N55.282 trillion from N55.394 trillion.
In 10,412 deals, investors exchanged 774,377,516 shares worth N14.647trillion. Stocks like Jaiz Bank, Zenith Bank, FBN Holdings, GTCO and Japaul Gold were actively traded.
In their September 9 note, Meristem research analysts said they expect a bullish outlook for the equities market this week, as we expect buying interest to outweigh profit-taking activity.
“In our view, investors’ sentiments towards tickers with attractive prices will spur market activities during the week. Also, we expect more buying interest in the Oil and Gas sector due to the activities seen in the past weeks which might entice investors into taking positions.
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“Additionally, improving macroeconomic indicators might increase investors’ sentiment. We anticipate that declining yields in the fixed-income market will rekindle interest in the equities market. While we do not rule out occasional intra-day profit-taking activities, we foresee an overall positive trading week,” Meristem analysts said.
