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April 23, 2024/Futureview Research
How the Equities Market Performed Last Week
The domestic stock market commenced the week on a bearish note, with the first session witnessing a loss of 53 basis points (bps). This negative trajectory set the tone for the week, as profit-taking persisted into the second session, resulting in the NGXASI declining by 193 bps, marking the steepest weekly loss.
However, a reversal occurred during the third session, with bullish sentiment prevailing and leading to a modest gain of 10 bps. Nonetheless, this upward momentum was short-lived, as the market-experienced losses in the last two sessions of the week, with declines of 6 bps and 31 bps, respectively.
Overall, the domestic bourse encountered declines in four out of five trading sessions, with only a single bullish closure. Consequently, the NGX All Share Index recorded a week-on-week decline of 2.71%, while the year-to-date return settled at 33.12%.
A total turnover of 1.60 billion shares worth N32.31 billion in 44,915 deals was traded this week by investors on the floor of the Exchange, in contrast to a total of 1.13 billion shares valued at N28.65 that exchanged hands last week in 21,921 deals.
The Financial Services Industry (measured by volume) led the activity chart with 1.15 billion shares valued at N22.42 billion traded in 26,192 deals; thus contributing 71.87% and 69.39% to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively. The Conglomerates Industry followed with 117.63 million shares worth N1.58 billion in 2,501 deals. The third place was the Oil and Gas Industry, with a turnover of 92.50 million shares worth N810.99 million in 2,621 deals.
Trading in the top three equities namely Access Holdings Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc and Zenith Bank Plc (measured by volume) accounted for 570.03 billion shares worth N14.08 billion in 12,079 deals, contributing 35.69% and 43.57% to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
This week, the sectorial performance was broadly bearish as four (4) out of five (5) sectors under our coverage closed in the south zone. The Banking sector (-11.5% w/w) led the laggards following sell offs in GTCO (-19.1% w/w), UBA (-13.7% w/w), ACCESSCORP (-11.9% w/w) and ZENITHBANK (-11.3% w/w).
Trailing behind were the Insurance (-2.8% w/w), Industrial (-2.71% w/w) and Consumer Goods (-1.0% w/w) owing to share price decline in AIICO (-10.7% w/w), MANSARD (-3.5% w/w), WAPCO (-1.5% w/w), DANGSUGAR (-9.6% w/w), FLOURMILL (-9.8% w/w) and UNILEVER (-11.7% w/w). The Oil & Gas sector
closed flat.
Thirteen (13) equities appreciated in price during the week lower than nineteen (19) equities in the previous week. Sixty-two (62) equities depreciated in price higher than forty (40) in the previous week, while seventy-nine (79) equities remained unchanged, lower than ninety-five (95) recorded in the previous week.
The top gainers for the week included MORISON, gained 45.31%, followed by GUINNESS (+10.00%) and ACADEMY (+9.77%). Conversely, the top decliners were GTCO (-19.08%), UNITYBNK (-19.00%), and LIVESTOCK (-18.99%).
Our Expectation for this Week
Stock Recommendation This week, we expect a mixed performance in the equities market as market participants react to emerging corporate developments and tactically realign their portfolios in anticipation of dividend
disbursements. While investors are expected to maintain a keen interest in the fixed income segment in the near term, we anticipate a revitalization of buying enthusiasm in equities.
This resurgence is poised to be fueled by forthcoming corporate initiatives and earnings disclosures, enticing investors seeking to capitalize on dividend distributions. Our recommendation to investors is to consider investing in high-quality stocks backed by strong fundamentals.
