By volume, the Nigerian Exchange Limited floor transactions from last week were dominated by the financial services sector (NGX).
With 634 million shares valued at N6.4 billion exchanged in 8,540 trades, it topped the activity chart. As a result, it made up 67% of the overall equity turnover and value.
The consumer goods sector came in second with 78 million shares for N2.2 billion traded in 2, 993 trades, and conglomerates came in third with 59 million shares traded for N10 million in 788 transactions.
Trading in the top three stocks, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc, Universal Insurance Plc, and Transnational Corporation Plc, contributed 28.5% of the total amount of equity movement with 269.2 million shares worth N2.9 billion in 1,845 trades.
Investors transacted 944 million shares worth N22 billion in 18,615 transactions on the Exchange floor, compared to a total of 3.8 billion units worth N27 billion in 20,333 transactions the week prior.
With two weeks of increases in a row, the All-Share Index and market capitalization increased by 0.2% to complete the week at 54,327.3 points and N29.591 trillion, respectively, on the price movement chart, the bourse had a good week.
While the NGX ASeM and NGX Sovereign Bond indices closed flat, the NGX 30, NGX Premium, NGX AFR Div Yield, NGX Oil and Gas, NGX Lotu II, and NGX Industrial Goods indices saw gains of 0.34 percent, 1.04 percent, 0.5 percent, 0.63 percent, 0.51 percent, and 0.65 percent. All other indices finished lower.
Analysts explained the rise as being the result of investors’ continued interest in MTN Nigeria (MTNN) (+1.7%) and Dangote Cement (+1.2%), despite the fact that the returns for the Month To Date (MTD) and Year To Date (YTD) rose to +2.0% and +6%, respectively.
Cordros Capital stated: “In the subsequent weeks, we expect the NGX to be flooded with corporate earnings as more companies publish 2022FY numbers, which will be accompanied by dividend declarations.”
“We believe this should provide a catalyst for buying activities even as risk-averse investors are likely to remain cautious due to medium-term expectations of an uptick in FI yields.
“Overall, we advise investors to seek trading opportunities in only fundamentally justified stocks as the weak macro story remains a significant headwind for corporate earnings.”
The gains registered in MTNN and Dangote Cement, as well as the 34bps rise in the NGX30 index, helped the market gain 21bps w/w despite three red closures this week, according to analysts at Vetiva Dealings and Brokerage.
“For next week, we still anticipate mixed trading sessions, as investors remain cautious, amid slight profit-taking actions.”
Furthermore, a total of 1 million units worth N11.7 million worth of Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) were traded in 62 deals last week, and 16,674 units worth N11.9 million were traded in 44 deals this week.
Less than the 55 stocks that gained value the week before, only 24 stocks did so this week. The number of stocks that declined increased to 45 from 27, while the number of stocks that were stable increased to 88 from 75 the week before.
