The Nigerian equities market reversed its gains yesterday as it closed down by -0.34% in today’s trading session. 

Market Breadth index, a gauge for investor sentiment, closed in the red as 30 stocks declined compared to 24 stocks that gained. 

FLOURMILL (+10.05%) had the best performance while LASACO (-8.70%) topped the losers’ chart.  

DIAMONDBNK (-0.31%) was the most actively traded stocks with c.69million units of shares accounting for c.11% of total volume.  

Sector Performance  

·         NSE Consumer Goods Index: Closed down by -1.10% as a result of INTBREW (-4.92%), PZ (-4.88%) and NB (-2.00%) 

·         NSE Banking Index: Shed -0.21% on the back of the losses in FCMB (-4.92%), SKYEBANK (-4.55%),  STERLNBANK (-4.55%), FIDELITYBK (-3.68%) and UBN (-3.66%). 

·         NSE Industrial Index: Closed up +1.87% following the price appreciation in WAPCO (+4.57%) and CCNN (+0.85%). 

·         NSE Oil and Gas Index: Gained +0.33%, largely driven by the gains in FO (+1.90%) and ETERNA (+4.94%).  

Earnings Release 

Nil 

Market Insight 

The Nigeria equities market closed down today, largely driven by the sell-off in the Banking and Consumer names. Going forwards, we expect the market to trade sideways even as investors continue to take positions in this earning season. Nonetheless, we believe the recent sell-off may 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