SAT 04 SEPT, 2021-theGBJournal- Bearish sentiments dominated the market this week, with the local bourse recording losses in three of the five trading sessions of the week, following sell-offs of large cap stocks including NB (-7.7%), DANGCEM (-1.8%) and ZENITHBANK (-1.2%).
Consequently, the NGX All-Share Index and Market Capitalization depreciated by 0.57% to close the week at 39,261.01 and N20.456 trillion respectively. All other indices finished lower with the exception of NGX Insurance, NGX AFR Div Yield, NGX MERI Growth, NGX Meri Value and NGX Sovereign Bond indices which appreciated by 0.79%, 0.11%, 0.03%, 0.31% and 0.65% respectively, while the NGX ASeM and NGX Growth Indices closed flat.
Accordingly, the MTD and YTD return settled at +0.1% and -2.5%, respectively. However, activity levels were strong, as trading volumes and value rose by 29.3% w/w and 5.0% w/w, respectively.
A total turnover of 1.338 billion shares worth N8.650 billion in 19,830 deals were traded this week by investors on the floor of the Exchange, in contrast to a total of 1.026 billion shares valued at N8.183 billion that exchanged hands last week in 18,102 deals, according to NGX Exchange Limited data.
Analysing by sectors, the Oil and Gas (-3.0%), Consumer Goods (-1.3%), Industrial Goods (-0.9%), and Banking (-0.6%) indices all closed in the red. However, the Insurance (+0.8%) index emerged as the sole gainer for the week.
In the coming week, we expect earnings from the big banks, specifically GTCO and UBA to drive buying sentiments on the bourse, as the declaration of interim dividends may likely accompany the results.
Overall, we advise investors to take positions in only fundamentally justified stocks as the unimpressive macro story remains a significant headwind for corporate earnings.
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