SAT MAY 11 2024-theGBJournal| The Nigerian equities market could not consolidate the prior week’s gains following pressure from profit-taking activities during the week.
Particularly, sell pressures on AIRTELAFR (-10.3%), FBNH (-7.4%) and TRANSCORP (-10.6%) drove the benchmark index lower amid buying interests in MTNN (+2.3%), GTCO (+8.8%) and TRANSCOHOT (+5.6%).
Thus, the All-Share Index declined by 1.4% w/w to 98,233.76 points.
Similarly, all other indices finished lower with the exception NGX CG, NGX Premium, NGX AFR Bank Value, NGX AFR Div Yield, NGX Industrial Goods, NGX Growth and NGX Sovereign Bond which appreciated by 0.12%, 0.20%, 1.84%, 0.79%, 0.07%, 0.02% and 1.30% while the NGX ASeM index closed flat.
The Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date returns settled at -1.4% and +31.4%. Trading activity was healthy, as the total trading volume increased by 12.7% w/w, while the total trading value grew by 55.2% w/w.
Sectoral performances were mostly negative, as the Consumer Goods (-1.2%), Insurance (-1.0%), Oil and Gas (-0.3%) and Banking (-0.1%) indices declined, while only the Industrial Goods (+0.1%) index gained.
Meanwhile, Global equities markets posted broadly positive performances this week fueled by strong corporate earnings, optimism surrounding potential interest rate cuts by central banks, and positive developments in geopolitical tensions.
Accordingly, US equities (DJIA: +1.8%; S&P 500: +1.7%) were on pace for a third consecutive weekly gain driven by solid corporate earnings from AAPL (Apple Inc.) and speculation about potential interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve, especially given the weaker-than-expected April jobs report.
European equities (STOXX Europe: +2.6%; FTSE 100: +2.7%) traded with positive sentiments buoyed by (1) strong corporate earnings from banking names like Swiss bank and Unicredit, (2) growing confidence from the European Central Bank regarding the possibility of interest rate cuts in June, and (3) a gradual easing of tensions in the Middle East.
In Asia (SSE: +1.6%; Nikkei 225: 0.0%), the Chinese market rallied on the country’s upbeat trade data and fresh signs of support for the property market, while the Japanese market ended the week mixed amid concerns about the business outlook during the ongoing earnings season.
The Emerging (MSCI EM: +0.2%) and Frontier (MSCI FM: +0.8%) Markets indices mirrored the broader positive trend across global markets and were driven by bullish sentiments in China (+1.6%) and Vietnam (+1.7%), respectively,
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