February 1, 2018/InvestmentOne Research

The Nigeria equities market closed today on a positive note, as NSE-ASI appreciated by +0.26%. 

However, market breadth index, a gauge for investor sentiment, closed negative as 35 stocks declined against 22 stocks that gained. 

AIICO (+8.82%) was the best performing stock while LASACO (-9.52%) had the worst performance. 

TRANSCORP (+0.43%) was the most actively traded stocks with c.105million units of shares worth c.N245m. 

Sector Performance  

·         NSE Industrial Index: Gained +0.69% largely driven by DANGCEM (+1.85%) and CCNN (+4.79%). 

·         NSE Banking Index: Closed down by  -0.15%  following the losses in FBNH (-2.51%), ACCESS (-1.93%),  WEMABANK (-4.76%), JAIZBANK (-4.67%) and DIAMONDBNK (-2.52%). 

·         NSE Oil and Gas Index: Shed -0.07% on the back of the losses in  ETERNA (-4.54%). 

·         NSE Consumer Goods Index: Selloffs in INTBREW (-4.77%), DANGSUGAR (-1.90%), HONYFLOUR (-0.33%) and NB (-0.07) drove down the sector to close down by -0.41%.  

Earnings Release 

Nil 

Market Insight 

The Nigeria equities closed up today, largely driven by the gain in DANGCEM which more than offset the losses across most sectors. In the near term, we expect the market to trade sideways even as investors continue to take positions in this earning season. While we highlight the potential for profit taking given the recent gain, we believe this 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