March 14, 2018/InvestmentOne Report
The Nigerian equities market closed negative today as NSE-ASI shed 0.54%.
Similarly, market breadth index ended negative with 15 stocks gaining against 42 stocks that declined.
CILEASING (+7.78%) had the best performance while LASACO (-9.52%) topped the laggards chart.
FIDELITYBK (-4.75%) was the most actively traded with c. 46million units of shares worth c.N131million.
Sector Performance
NSE Banking Index: Shed 1.45%, on the back of the sell-off in FCMB (-5.28%), FIDELITYBK (-4.75%), ACCESS (-3.52%) , UBA (-2.06%) and ZENITHBANK (-1.81%).
NSE Consumer Goods Index: Lost 0.72% due to the decline in DANGSUGAR (-4.93%), CADBURY (-4.74%), HONYFLOUR (-1.98%) and NESTLE (-1.43%).
NSE Oil & Gas Index: Closed down by 0.27%, largely driven by ETERNA (-4.76%) and TOTAL (-1.20%) .
NSE Industrial Index: Inched up by 0.09%, following the gains in DANGCEM (+0.15%).
Earnings Release
Guaranty Trust Bank Plc released its full year 2017 result today which showed a Profit before tax of N200.4bn, up 21.4% y/y.
Stanbic IBTC Holding Plc released its full year 2017 result today which showed a Profit before tax of N61.17bn, up 64.38% y/y.
Market Insight
The Nigerian equities market printed in red today following the sell-off across most sectors. In the absence of any catalyst, we expect the market to remain volatile in the near term as investors continue to take positions in this earnings season. Nonetheless, we advise entry into our quality names for investors with a medium to longer term horizon.
TOP PICKS: ACCESS, DANGCEM, GUARANTY, NB, NESTLE, UBA & ZENITHBANK
