The Nigerian Exchange Limited recorded a bullish run during the week ended March 8, 2024 thus reversing losses witnessed the previous week.
Market analysts affirmed that the bullish trend was achieved despite a discernible shift by equity investors away from financial services stocks towards more appealing fixed income yields and amidst negative market breadth.
As a result of resurgence of bullish activity in the market, the NGX benchmark index, the All-Share Index surged by 2.61 percent week-on-week, reaching 101,330.85 points. Experts said that the renewed positive sentiment was largely driven by heightened expectations among market participants, who eagerly digested various economic data and in anticipation of the upcoming Consumer Price Index report and ongoing portfolio rebalancing activities.
In tandem with the ASI’s upward trajectory, the total market capitalization of listed equities experienced a robust 6.03 percent week-on-week increase, reaching N57.29 trillion.
This surge was propelled by the recent listing of TRANSPOWER through introduction at the beginning of the week. Consequently, investors enjoyed a substantial year-to-date return of 35.52 percent, resulting in a collective wealth accretion of N3.26 trillion compared to the previous week’s N1.83 trillion.
This performance underscores the dynamic interplay of market forces amid evolving economic conditions.
Despite the overall bullish sentiment and the upward repricing of select Nigerian stocks, trading activity witnessed a significant surge throughout the week.
The tally of weekly deals accelerated by 6.38% to 51,557 deals, while the average traded volume rose by 14.64 percent week on week to 2.16 billion units.
Additionally, the weekly average value moved impressively higher by 218.7 percent week-on-week, reaching N108.83 billion, reflecting increased market participation and investor interest.
The sectoral performance for the week displayed weakness across most sectors, with the exception of the Industrial goods index, which recorded a modest gain of 1.59 percent week on week, attributed to positive price movements in BUA CEMENT and LAFARGE.
Conversely, the insurance, banking, and consumer goods sectors experienced downturns, losing 5.22 percent, 1.40 percent and 1.21 percent week-on-week, respectively, due to retracements in the prices of key stocks such as GUINNESS, ETI, NEM, NASCON, UBA, FCMB, DANSUGAR, and AIICO.
The Oil & Gas index remained unchanged from the previous week’s close.
Individual stock performances showcased remarkable achievements among gainers, with TRANSPOWER, JULI, TRANSCORP, PZ CUSSONS, FBNH, and MTNN leading the charts with share price advances of 46 percent, 33 percent, 19 percent, 19 percent, and 10 percent, respectively. Conversely, GUINNESS (17.5 percent), ETI (17 percent), NEM (16.7 percent), CHAMS (16 percent), and Nigerian Breweries (11 percent) emerged as major losers, experiencing notable price declines week-on-week.
Meanwhile, market analysts say they anticipate the prevailing bullish sentiment to persist in the market this new week. They say the expectation is based on the anticipation of more corporate announcements and continued portfolio rebalancing by investors seeking alpha.
“Nonetheless, we advise investors to remain vigilant in rebalancing their portfolios while carefully assessing Nigeria’s macroeconomic data. Meanwhile, we continue to advise investors on taking positions in stocks with sound fundamentals,” they said.
Meristem research analysts also noted that this listing of Transcorp Power is expected to enhance the liquidity on the Nigerian Exchange and further strengthen the Nigerian capital market.
“Following its listing, there was significant buying interest on the ticker, as it gained 46.38 percent to close the week at a price of N351.30 per share,” the analysts noted.
