Equities market rebounds amid bargain hunting on banks shares, others

The equities market of the NGX on Tuesday rebounded with the All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 0.1% to 39,460.68 points due to bargain hunting on WAPCO (+2.3%), ZENITH (+0.8%), and GTCO (+0.4%).

Consequently, YTD loss improved to -2.0% while market capitalisation increased by ₦13.5bn to ₦20.6tn. Trading activity weakened as volume and value traded fell by 6.7% and 28.4% to 196.8m units and ₦1.5bn respectively.

The most traded stocks by volume were COURTVILLE (22.4m units), SOVRENINS (21.3m units), and WEMABANK (16.9m units) while SEPLAT (₦289.6m), ZENITH (₦167.6m), and GTCO (₦131.9m) led by value.

Across sectors under our coverage, performance was mixed as 3 indices gained, 2 lost while the AFR-ICT index closed flat.

The Banking, Consumer and Industrial Goods indices rose by 0.1% apiece due to buying interest in ZENITH (+0.8%), GTCO (+0.4%), DANGSUGAR (+0.8%), HONYFLOUR (+4.9%), and WAPCO (+2.3%). On the flip side, the Insurance and Oil & Gas indices dipped by 0.4% and 0.2% respectively due to sell-offs in MANSARD (-2.3%), AIICO (-3.1%), and OANDO (-1.0%).

Investors sentiment, as measured by market breadth (advance/decline ratio), weakened, settling at 0.9x from 1.7x recorded in the previous trading session as 16 stocks advanced while 18 stocks declined.

MORISON (+10.0%), REGALINS (+9.5%), and TRIPPLEG (+9.1%) led the gainers while FTNCOCOA (-9.1%), COURTVILLE (-8.8%), and SOVRENINS (-8.0%) led the losers.

In the next trading session, we expect to see mild gain driven by strategic positioning in bellwether banking stocks, as H1:2021 earnings release deadline, nears crescendo.