Investors in the stock market made N409 billion over the last week thanks to a slight uptick in trading activity at the Nigerian Exchange Limited.
According to The Punch, this resulted in the All-Share Index gaining 1.12% week over week to 67,200.69 points.
The market value of listed stocks increased by 1% week over week to N36.919 trillion, while the ASI’s year-to-date performance increased to 31.12%.
According to Cowry Assets Management Limited analysts, the market “remains in a consolidation range with low trading volume and a positive market breadth,” in their weekly report.
Four out of the five trading sessions during the reviewed week were bullish, resulting in N409 billion in gains, which were principally fueled by rising prices in the Industrial Goods Index.
With the exception of the NGX Consumer Goods, NGX Banking, NGX AFR Bank Value, NGX MERI Growth, and NGX Sovereign Bond indices, which declined by 0.16 percent, 0.78 percent, 0.94 percent, 0.32 percent, and 0.56 percent, respectively, while the NGX Premium and NGX ASeM indices closed flat, sectoral performance was largely positive.
On the trading floor of the exchange, investors transacted about 1.470 billion shares worth N24.431 billion in 29,683 deals, as opposed to 2.410 billion shares worth N22.115 billion that exchanged hands the previous week in 27,965 deals.
The Financial Services Industry (measured by volume) led the activity chart with 929.631 million shares worth N12.948 billion exchanged in 13,626 transactions, accounting for 63.25 percent of overall stock turnover volume and value. Following with 171.236 million shares worth N334.792 million in 452 deals was the Healthcare Industry.
The Oil and Gas Industry came in third with a turnover of 90.156 million shares worth N5.099 billion in 2,769 transactions.
According to volume, the top three stocks for the week were Access Holdings Plc, Neimeth International Pharmaceutical Plc, and Fidelity Bank Plc, which collectively exchanged 502.843 million shares worth N4.388 billion in 3,117 deals, accounting for 34.21 percent and 17.96 percent, respectively, of the total equity turnover volume and value.
BUA Cement, CHI Plc, Nigerian Breweries, and Dangote Sugar are among stocks that demonstrated remarkable performance and great investor interest, with respective share prices growing by 13%, 13%, 9%, and 7%.
The prices of Prestige, Presco, Ecobank Transnational, and Sterling HoldCo all fell by 10%, 10%, 5%, and 5%, respectively, over the course of the week, placing them on the losers chart.
Market sentiment is expected to be mixed this week, according to analysts at Arthur Stevens Asset Management and Cowry Research, driven by both bargain hunting and portfolio rebalancing.
Equity investors will be paying attention to the National Bureau of Statistics’ anticipated release of the September inflation rate this week, as well as the publication of listed businesses’ Q3 corporate earnings reports.
The Central Bank of Nigeria relaxed the eight-year ban on FX provision for 40 additional products last week, including cement, milk, and maize.
This change occurred just days after Citigroup urged the central bank to suspend the prohibition in order to address problems afflicting the foreign exchange market.
According to the CBN, the embargo’s relaxation will increase market liquidity for foreign exchange.
It is anticipated that international investors will respond favorably to the ban’s repeal.
