By Habibatu Aliu
Bargain-hunting ahead of the 2022 full-year earnings and dividend declarations have continued to spur activities in the equities sector of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), causing the All-share index and market capitalisation to appreciate by 2.5 per cent last week.
Also, the volume of shares traded soared significantly, as a turnover of 1.3 billion shares worth N29.6 billion was recorded in 19,816 deals by investors, higher than a total of 921.9 million units valued at N27.2 billion that changed hands in 15,601 deals on January 6, 2023.
At the close of transactions last week, investors renewed interests in bellwether (Highcap) stocks among which are MTN Nigeria (+6.9 per cent), Dangote Cement (+3.1 per cent), and BUA cement (+3.6 per cent).
Accordingly, the All-share index and market capitalisation appreciated by 2.52 per cent to close the week at 52,512.48 points and N28.602 trillion respectively.
Similarly, all other indices finished higher except NGX Insurance and NGX Growth indices which depreciated by 1.64.per cent and 4.40 per cent respectively, while the NGX ASeM and NGX Sovereign Bond indices closed flat.
Analysts predict a brighter outlook, noting that the current repositioning for 2022 full-year earnings releases and accompanying dividends declarations would continue to outweigh profit-taking activities.
Cordros Capital said: “In the short term, we expect market performance to be dominated by the bulls. Notwithstanding, we advise investors to take positions in only fundamentally justified stocks as the weak macro environment remains a significant headwind for corporate earnings.”
Afrinvest said: “In the coming week, we anticipate a sustained positive performance as investors seek bargain-hunting opportunities.”
Vetiva Dealings and Brokerage said: “The positive sentiment this week was seen across the board, as all sectoral indices except the insurance closed in the red.
“Also, the week returned 252bps compared to the 6bps loss in the previous week, and we are likely to see moderations next week, as investors begin to take profit.”
Further breakdown of activities last week showed that the financial services industry (measured by volume) led the activity chart with 952.2 million shares valued at N9.7 billion traded in 9,647 deals; thus contributing 74.07 per cent to the total equities turnover.
The industrial goods industry followed with 92.8 million shares worth N8.5 billion in 1,682 deals. The conglomerate industry ranked third with a turnover of 54.6 million shares worth N96.7 million in 754 deals.
Trading in the top three equities namely FBN Holdings Plc, Sterling Bank Plc, and Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (measured by volume) accounted for 507.852 million shares worth N5.7 billion in 2,585 deals, contributing 39.5 per cent to the total equities turnover.
