January 30, 2018/InvestmentOne Report

The equities market ended positive for the third consecutive trading session, up +0.42%. 

Also, Market Breadth Index, a gauge for investor sentiment closed positive as 34 stocks advanced, compared to 24 stocks that declined.  

DIAMONDBNK (+10.00%) was the best performer against ROYALEX (-8.33%) which led the losers’ chart.  

TRANSCORP (+9.33%) was the most actively traded stocks with 160million units of shares accounting for c.18% of total volume.  

Sector Performance  

·         NSE Industrial Index: Best performer (+0.62%) largely due to BETAGLAS (+4.97%) and DANGCEM (+0.75%). 

·         NSE Banking Index: Gains in DIAMONDBNK (+10.00%), STERLNBANK (+10.00%),  STANBIC (+2.22%), FBNH (+0.71%) and GUARANTY (+0.51%) drove the sector to a positive close (+0.48%) . 

·         NSE Oil and Gas Index: Shed -0.56% following the losses in ETERNA (-3.74%) and SEPLAT (-1.10%). 

·         NSE Consumer Goods Index: Closed negative (-0.30%) as a result of NESTLE (-2.00%), UNILEVER (-0.67%), UACN (-0.28%) and FLOURMILL (-0.16%). 

Earnings Release 

·         Honeywell Flour Mill Plc. released its Q3 2018 (year end March 2018) numbers earlier today which showed -63.8% q/q decline and -39.56% y/y decline in PBT to N709m. 

Market Insight 

The investors’ sentiment remains strong as All Share Index closed in the green today. This may not be unconnected with investors positioning ahead of earnings season commencing later this quarter. Nonetheless, we believe there may be profit taking in the market, which could present entry opportunities into our quality names for investors with a medium to longer term horizon.  

TOP PICKS: ACCESS, DANGCEM, GUARANTY, NB, NESTLE, UBA & ZENITHBANK