February 19, 2018/InvestmentOne Report

The Nigerian equities market closed the first trading session of the week negative, shedding -1.53%. 

Also, market breadth index ended negative with 32 decliners against 16 gainers. 

LINKASSURE (+9.09%) was the top gainer while PZ (-8.00%) had the worst performance. 

The most actively traded stock was SKYEBANK with c.58million units of shares worth c.N63m. 

Sector Performance 

·         NSE Consumer Goods Index: Shed -1.62% following the losses in NESTLE (-4.16%), NB (-1.60%) and PZ (-8.00%) 

·         NSE Industrial Index: Closed down by -1.48%, largely driven by the loss in DANGCEM (-3.31%). 

·         NSE Banking Index: Was relatively flat at +0.01% on the back of the gains in GUARANTY (+2.15%). 

·         NSE Oil and Gas Index: Closed flat. 

Earnings Release 

Market Insight

Bearish sentiments especially in the Consumer and Industrial names drove the NSE-ASI to print in the red today. Going forward, we expect the market to trade sideways as investors continue to take positions in this earnings season. Despite the sell-off we saw in the market recently, 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