The Nigerian bourse started the week in a positive mood as the All-Share Index (ASI) crossed the 121,000 mark and ended at 121,295.33 on July 5.
This is 0.25 percent higher than the last close at 120,989.66, representing improved investor confidence despite negative trading volume.
In spite of the decreased market activity, with volume falling to 824.1 million units from the last session’s 923 million, market players’ sentiment was still positive. Market capitalization also increased marginally, to N76.5 trillion from N76.3 trillion. Trading was done on 24,042 deals that traded. This indicated that market players were busy repositioning for impending earnings announcements and half-year portfolio review.
FIRSTHOLDCO Blows Minds with 9.8% Rise
Among the banking behemoths, FIRSTHOLDCO swept the spotlight with a 9.8 percent growth. The FirstHoldCo boom supported the other FUGAZ banking sector, where GTCO improved by 1.56 percent, UBA improved by 0.27 percent, and ZENITHBANK improved by 0.09 percent. ACCESSCORP dropped by 0.45 percent, barely muting the group’s performance.
Four Stocks Hit the Ceiling with Maximum Gains
Some of the top performers of the day included TRIPPLEG, ELLAHLAKES, UPDCREIT, and CADBURY, all of which had the highest 10 percent daily gain, an indication of good momentum and investor confidence in such counters. REDSTAREX came a close second with a 9.92 percent rise.
Conversely, SUNUASSUR and RTBRISCOE led the laggards with a 10 percent and 9.59 percent decline respectively. PRESTIGE, UPDC, and BERGER also settled in the red by a loss of between 7 and 9 percent.
Most Active Stocks by Volume and Value
UNIVINSURE led the day’s business with 71.9 million shares, followed by FCMB at 61.3 million shares and JAPAULGOLD with 53.3 million shares. ACCESSCORP and AIICO rounded out the top five with 42 million and 40.1 million shares traded respectively.
Blue-chip stocks cornered the lion’s share of trade value:
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Nigerian Breweries: NB topped the list with N2.3 billion of trade value
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ZENITHBANK ranked second at N1.4 billion
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NESTLE traded N1.2 billion, with GTCO and ACCESSCORP recording N1.02 billion and N942.8 million, respectively
SWOOTs and Sector Movement
Among the Stocks Worth Over One Trillion Naira (SWOOTs), INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES sharply moved up by 2.28 percent, as NIGERIAN BREWERIES gained by 1.04 percent after experiencing renewed interest in the consumer goods sector.
Market Outlook
The All-Share Index’s breach above the 121,000-point level is a critical technical and psychological threshold for Nigeria’s equities market. Led by the heavy mid and large-cap stocks, and boosted by improving sentiment across board, the market seems set to see more bull run in the near term, particularly with investors following catalysts such as H1 earnings and regulatory statements.
Ahead of earnings season, momentum is expected to pick up, particularly in those sectors that have held strong against macroeconomic headwinds.
