SAT 27 NOV, 2021-theGBJournal- A total turnover of 3.435 billion shares worth N30.915 billion in 21,109 deals were traded this week by investors on the floor of the Exchange, in contrast to a total of 1.392 billion shares valued at N27.886 billion that exchanged hands last week in 19,990 deals, according to NGX Exchange data.
Trading in the top three equities namely OANDO Plc, FBN Holdings Plc and Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (measured by volume) accounted for 2.283 billion shares worth N17.395 billion in 3,645 deals, contributing 66.47% and 56.27% to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively
At the end of the week’s trading activity, the local stocks managed to eke out a weekly gain despite pressure from profit-taking activities, as the All-Share Index ended the week 0.3% higher to close at 43,308.29 points.
Gains in AIRTELAFRI (+3.8%), following foreign investors’ interest and bargain-hunting activities in FBNH (+3.9%) and NESTLE (+2.2%) spurred the weekly gain. Based on the preceding, the MTD and YTD return settled at +3.0% and +7.5%, respectively.
Activity levels were stronger than the prior week, as trading volumes and value increased by 146.7% w/w and 10.9% w/w, respectively. Sectoral performance was mixed as the Insurance (+3.6%) index emerged as the sole gainer while the Consumer Goods (-2.0%), Oil and Gas (-0.9%), and Banking (-0.3%) indices declined. The Industrial Goods index closed flat.
The Oil & Gas Services Industry (measured by volume) led the activity chart with 2.014 billion shares valued at N13.448 billion traded in 1,350 deals; thus contributing 58.63% and 43.50% to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
The Financial Service Industry followed with 1.052 billion shares worth N10.168 billion in 10,941 deals. The third place was the Consumer Goods Industry, with a turnover of 183.803 million shares worth N4.492 billion in 4,007 deals
In the week ahead, we expect market performance to be dominated by the bulls, as positioning by early birds in dividend-paying stocks ahead of 2021FY dividend declarations should outweigh profit-taking activities. We reiterate the need for positioning in only fundamentally sound stocks as the weak macro environment remains a significant headwind for corporate earnings.
Meanwhile, negative sentiments dominated global equities as risk-off sentiment reverberated across the world. This was due to the combined impact of worries over the normalization of monetary policy and the spread of a new COVID-19 variant, as renewed restrictions in major regions dampened investors’ hopes about the global recovery. US markets experienced a shortened trading week due to the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday.
However, the (DJIA; +0.6% and S&P; +0.1%) managed to end the week in the green as investors assessed the strong economic data and minutes from the Fed Reserve meeting earlier in the week. In Europe, the STOXX Europe (-4.1%) and FTSE 100 (-2.1%) plummeted as investors were rattled by the surge in Covid cases in the region.
Likewise, in Asia, the Nikkei 225: (-3.3%) plunged as reports of a new COVID-19 variant raised concerns over its potential effect on the global recovery. On the other hand, the SSE (+0.1%) managed to eke out a weekly gain despite regulatory jitters in China.
Elsewhere, the Emerging (MSCI EM: -1.1%) mirrored the downbeat mood across global equities consequent upon sell-offs in South Korea (-1.2%), which offset gains in China (+0.1%). While the Frontier (MSCI FM: +0.1%) market stocks posted marginal gains primarily driven by bullish sentiments in the Vietnamese (+3.1%) market.
Twitter-@theGBJournal|Facebook-The Government and Business Journal|email: govandbusinessj@gmail.com
