SAT, 18 JUNE, 2022-theGBJournal| Ending the holiday-shortened week, Nigerian equities maintained its losing streak for the fourth and last consecutive session, as the All-Share index ended 1.21% weaker – the biggest single day decline since 01 June – to close at 51,778.08 points, the lowest point since 06 May.
Selloffs in MTNN (-5.64%) and the extended rout in banking names, ZENITHBANK (-2.51%), GTCO (-2.09%), FBNH (-5.37%), UBA (-0.66%) and ACCESSCORP (-2.62%) drove the weak performance of the broader Index, offsetting a slight recovery In BUAFOODS (+2.33%).
Having lost in all trading sessions this week, the ASI closed 2.68% lower w/w, eroding gains of the past week. The dire performance of the market this week was primarily driven by selloffs in index heavyweights, MTNN (-7.88% w/w), BUAFOODS (-7.87% w/w) and AIRTELAFRI (-1.19% w/w).
In addition, the extended rout in banking names, FBNH (-8.06% w/w), ZENITHBANK (-6.35% w/w), GTCO (-4.32% w/w), ACCESSCORP (-5.10% w/w) and UBA (-2.60% w/w) compounded the woes of the market. Consequently, the year-to-date (YTD) return fell to 21.21%, while the market capitalization slipped by N767.33bn w/w to close at N27.91trn.
Trading in the top three equities namely United Bank for Africa Plc , Sterling Bank Plc and Transnational Corporation Plc (measured by volume) accounted for 304.837 million shares worth N1.285 billion in 2,103 deals, contributing 32.39% and 11.18% to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
Analysis of today’s market activities showed trade turnover settled higher relative to the previous session, with the value of transactions increasing by 54.96%. A total of 241.19m shares valued at N3.67bn were exchanged in 5,043 deals. JAIZBANK (-3.09%) led the volume chart with 40.66m units traded, while ZENITHBANK (-2.51%) led the value chart in deals worth N718.99mn.
Market breadth closed negative at 2.56-to-1 ratio, with declining issues outnumbering advancing ones. ARDOVA (-9.70%) topped twenty-two (22) others on the laggard’s table, while UACN (+6.48%) led eight (8) others on the leader’s log.
Meanwhile, Global equities logged the steepest declines since 2020 as aggressive interest rate hikes by major central banks to rein in surging inflation stoked recession concerns. Consequently, US (DJIA: -4.7%; S&P 500: -6.0%) stocks were on track for their worst weekly loss as hawkish policy actions from the Fed fueled worries of a possible recession. Likewise, European stock markets (STOXX Europe: -3.9%; and FTSE 100: -3.2%) are on course to close the week in the red as investors reacted negatively to announcements of rate hikes from major central banks. Asian markets were mixed, as the Nikkei 225 (-6.7%) suffered a huge loss mirroring the rout on Wall Street.
Conversely, the SSE (+1.0%) eked out a weekly gain as optimism about fiscal and monetary policy support drove bargain hunting in Chinese tech stocks. The Emerging (MSCI EM: -4.4%) and Frontier (MSCI FM: -3.8%) markets stocks mirrored the downbeat mood across global stocks consequent upon losses in South Korea (-6.0%) and Kuwait (-3.0%), respectively.
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