Nigerian equity market opens week bearish

The domestic bourse opened the week on a negative note as the All-Share Index decreased by 0.10%  to settle at 3 8,686.4 0 points owing to price depreciation in JAPAULGOLD (-8.4 7%), HONYFLOUR (-5.6 9%) and FCMB (-4.5 5%).

Consequently, YTD loss increased to -3.9 3% while market capitalisation declined by ₦2 0.6 9bn to ₦2 0.1 6tn. Activity level however was mixed, as volume traded increased by 5.8 7% to 210.8mn units while the value traded decreased by -5.7 2% to ₦3.7bn. Today’s most traded stocks by volume were FBNH (1 6.6 4mn units), WAPIC (1 6.4 8mn units) and CHAMS (1 6.2 3mn units) while ZENITHBANK (₦365.9 0mn), SEPLAT (₦134.2 3mn) and FBNH (₦121.0 4mn) led by value.

On a sectoral basis, performance was bearish with a bullish tilt. Specifically, two sectors closed higher while five sectors trailed. Gains in MORISON (+9.7 3%) ensured that the Healthcare sector led the

gainers as the index closed higher by 0.2 3%. Similarly, the Oil & Gas index gained 0.2 2%, due to buy interests in CONOIL (+9.6 3%). On the flipside, the Banking and Consumer Goods indices declined by

4 0bps and 9bps respectively due to losses in FCMB (-4.5 5%), UBN (-3.6 4%) and HONYFLOUR (-5.6 9%). In the same vein, the Industrial Goods and Agriculture indices lost 0.05% apiece on the back of losses in

PORTPAINT (-4.0 0%) and LIVESTOCK (-1.6 2%). The ICT index also closed negative, shedding -0.0 1% while the Services index closed flat.

Investor sentiment as measured by market breadth (advance/decline ratio) waned from 2.2 0x to 0.4 8x, reflective of 1 3 gainers against the 2 7 decliners. The top gainers were MORISON (+9.7 3%), CONOIL

(+9.6 3%), VERITASKAP (+8.3 3%), AFRIPRUD (+7.6 3%) and ROYALEX (+6.9 4%) while CWG (-9.8 0%), JAPAULGOLD (-8.4 7%), HONYFLOUR (-5.6 9%), FCMB (-4.5 5%) and PORTPAINT (-4.0 0%) lost the most.