NSE indices rebound as investors gainN7.1bn

The equities market of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Wednesday ended its negative sentiment rally, as investors gained N7.1billion at the close of trading activities.

Specifically, the domestic equities market ended on a positive note asthe market capitalisation rose to N12.4 trillion, against N12.349 trillion recorded on Tuesday and N12.482 trillion declared on Monday.

Also, the All-Share Index (ASI) rose 6bps to close at 23,704.44 points following price appreciation in Guaranty (+2.1%), STANBIC (+2.6%) and UNILEVER (+10.0%).

Although, activity level was mixed as volume traded rose 2.3 per cent to 159.2million units while value traded declined 8.1 per cent to N1.5billion.

The most active stocks by volume were FBNH (50.8m units), ACCESS (10.9m units) and UBA (9.8m units) while FBNH (N242.1bn), NIGERIAN BREWERIES (N219.7bn) and NESTLE (N206.4billion) led the value chart.

Performance across sectors was bullish as 4 of 6 indices under our coverage trended northward while the Industrial Goods index closed flat. The Oil & Gas index led gainers, up 2.7 per cent following bargain hunting in MOBIL and TOTAL. Similarly, the Insurance and Banking indices appreciated and respectively due to buying interest in MANSARD, WAPIC, GUARANTY and STANBIC.

Price upticks in UNILEVER (+10.0%) drove the Consumer Goods index higher by 0.4 per cent. Conversely, the AFR-ICT index was the lone laggard, down 0.8 per cent as a result of price decline in MTNN (-1.4%).

Investor sentiment, as measured by market breadth (advance/decline ratio), rose to 2.5x from the 0.9x recorded in the previous session as 20 stocks gained relative to 8 losers. The top gainers were UNILEVER, MOBIL and MAYBAKER while JAIZBANK, UNIONDAC (-6.5%) and CHAMPION (-6.2%) were top losers. The market presents an opportunity for bargain hunting. However, we maintain a bearish outlook for the rest of the week.

Meanwhile, Airtel Africa Plc (Audited FY:2020 Result): Revenue rose 11.2 per cent Y-o-Y to $3,422.0million from $3,077.0million in FY:2019 while profit after tax fell 4.2 per cent to $408.0million from $426.0million in FY:2019.

WEMABANK Plc (Unaudited Q1:2020 Result): Gross Earnings rose 4.6 per cent Y-o-Y to N20.8billion from N19.9billion in Q1:2019 while profit after tax fell 14.6 per cent to N977.3million from N1.1billion in Q1:2019.