The Nigerian equities market closed positive today as ASI gained +0.38%. 

However, market breadth index ended negative with 37 decliners against 18 gainers. 

PZ (+5.00%) was the top gainer while CONOIL (-9.67%) had the worst performance. 

The most actively traded stock was FBNH (-7.26%) with c.115million units of shares worth c.N1.25billion. 

Sector Performance  

·         NSE Industrial Index: Closed up by +1.58%, largely driven by the gains in DANGCEM (+3.46%) and FIRSTALUM (+2.70%). 

·         NSE Oil and Gas Index: Lost -1.31% due to the sell-off in CONOIL (-9.67%) and TOTAL (-4.98%) . 

·         NSE Banking Index: Declined by -1.03% on the back of the losses in STERLNBANK (-9.05%), DIAMONDBNK (-8.52%) , FBNH (-7.26%) and FCMB (-4.74%). 

·         NSE Consumer Goods Index: Shed -0.07% following the losses in INTBREW (-5.00%), CHAMPION (-4.93%), FLOURMILL (-1.54%) and NB (-0.70%) . 

Earnings Release 

Market Insight 

The Nigerian equities market closed positive today due to gains in DANGCEM and NESTLE. 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