Despite the absence of a positive market trigger, bargain hunting in the shares of CCNN, Dangote Cement and Nigerian Breweries pushed market indices to finish the week in the green.
Thus, investors’ wealth grew by approximately N438 billion to settle at N11.562 trillion from N11.124 trillion while the All-Share Index (ASI) notched 1.30 per cent to close Friday, January 18, 2018, at 31,005.17 points.
Thus, the Month-to-Date loss tapered to 2.70 per cent.
At the sound of the closing gong on Friday, Market breadth, however, turned negative as 22 stocks depreciated in value while 21 stocks appreciated.
Berger led the laggards with 9.68 per cent to close at N7.75 per share. Livestock feeds followed with a decline of 9.43 per cent to close at 0.48 kobo, Betaglass lost 8.79 per cent to close at N55, Jaiz Bank fell by 7.41 per cent to close at 0.50 kobo while Resort Savings and Loans declined by 7.14 per cent to close at 0.26 kobo.
On the flipside, Regal Insurance topped the gainers’ chart with 10 per cent to close at 0.22 kobo per share. Neimeth was next with 9.84 per cent to close at 0.67 kobo, Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) garnered 9.76 per cent to close at N6.75, NEM trailed with 9.73 per cent to close at N2.48 while Unity Bank rose by 9.64 per cent to close at 0.91 kobo.
Diamond Bank continued to top volume activity chart following the merger with Access Bank as it sold 72.17 million shares worth N151.91 million, thus becoming one of the top traded equities on the domestic bourse.
In a signed statement obtained by Sunday Sun, Company Secretary, Access Bank, Sunday Ekwochi, revealed that Access Bank has notified the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) that it has received Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s approval-in-principle for the proposed scheme of merger.
Zenith Bank traded 49.69 million shares worth N1.06 billion while GT Bank transacted 46.25 million shares valued at N1.48 billion.
Overall, the volume and value of stocks traded stood at 300.80 million units and N3.76 billion respectively, exchanged in 3,317 deals.
It remains to be seen whether the strong bullish run would continue to persist in the next trading week, but analysts have called for caution on the rush for less valued stocks, adding that investors should go for a strong strategic investment in fundamental sound stocks with short-to-medium term.
In an emailed response to Sunday Sun dated 17, January 2018, Cordros Capital Limited “maintained a negative outlook for the equities market in the short to medium term, amidst political concerns ahead of the 2019 elections, and the absence of a positive market trigger. However, positive macroeconomic fundamentals remain supportive of recovery in the long term.”
Head, Afrinvest Research, Robert Omotunde in an exclusive chat with Sunday Sun, noted that the outlook for equities next week is expected to slow down as investors will continue to watch the political climate before buying stocks.
His words: “What has happened in the trading sessions for this week has been bargain-hunting. This means that investors have identified few opportunities that they can take. However, the equities market is expected to slow until the elections are over because domestic investors are not known to be major market drivers and as much as investors are still taking the back seat and watching the political climate and trying to judge where to take positions, bargain hunting will continue to go on.
Bargain hunting is when investors see prices of stocks as low and then take advantage for short-term gains and what we will likely see is the reversal of trend in the sense that the market may gain today and lose tomorrow because from the macro picture and political landscape, the signals that the foreign investors are getting is not encouraging for them at this time so the gains in which we are seeing on the bourse is bargain hunting.”