SAT, NOV 11 2023-theGBJournal|The NGX All-Share Index (ASI) finished the week on a positive note, experiencing gains throughout the week.
The gains led to a 93 basis points increase in the All-Share Index, closing at 70,849.38 points.
Trading in the top three equities namely Japual Gold and Venture Plc, FBN Holdings and
United Bank for Africa Plc (measured by volume) accounted for 1.030 billion shares worth N14.138 billion in 5,263 deals, contributing 40.80% and 31.21% to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
The last trading session saw a 4 basis points rise, primarily fueled by price appreciations in FCMB (+9.38%), ETI (+3.23%), PZ (+9.26%), CONOIL (+7.86%), and VFDGROUP (+9.97%), offsetting declines in FIDELITYBK (-3.68%), DANGSUGAR (-0.65%), GTCO (-0.56%), and ETRANZACT (-4.43%). The market breadth reflected a bullish trend with a ratio of 2.6x (31 gainers and 12 losers).
On the activity front, trade volume and value decreased by 2.19% and 66.87%, resulting in 726.3 million units traded valued at N2.8 billion. JAPAULGOLD emerged as the most traded stock by volume, accounting for 29.6% with 164.7 million units traded. UBA led the value chart, trading N1.3 billion, constituting 22.9% of the total market value.
Global stocks edged higher this week following positive reactions to corporate earnings earlier in the week and expectations of stimulus support and economic growth in Asia. However, doubts about the Federal Reserve’s conclusion of its tightening policy weighed on sentiments later in the week.
Accordingly, the Federal Reserve’s hawkish comments, signaling a lack of confidence in curbing inflation, and increasing bond yields resulted in a retreat in US stocks (DJIA: -0.5%; S&P 500: -0.3%).
However, European equities (STOXX Europe: +0.8%; FTSE 100: +0.5%) traded positively, with investors focusing on upbeat corporate earnings. Similarly, Asian markets (Nikkei 225: +1.9%; SSE: +0.3%) closed higher due to optimism surrounding Japan’s new stimulus policy and China’s commitment to boosting imports to enhance ties with trade partners.
Finally, the Emerging market (MSCI EM: +0.8%) and Frontier market (MSCI FM: +1.5%) indices posted positive performances, influenced by gains in China (+0.3%) and Vietnam (+3.1%), respectively.
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