…Global stocks posted broadly positive performances
SAT 19 MARCH, 2022-theGBJournal| Closing the week in the red, the domestic bourse ended the day 0.15% weaker, bringing the All-Share Index to close at 47,282.67 points – the lowest point since 8 March 2022.
Selloffs in index heavyweights, BUAFOODS (-3.09%) and ACCESS (-5.77%) were primary drivers of the overall market’s performance despite gains in MTNN (+0.24%), UBA (+1.79%) and ZENITHBANK (+0.76%). Having gained in one (1) of five (5) trading sessions this week, the ASI closed 0.33% lower w/w, reversing most of the previous week’s gains.
Over the course of the week, bearish sentiment prevailed as SEPLAT (-6.06% w/w), BUAFOODS (-3.09% w/w), MTNN (-0.24% w/w) and ZENITHBANK (-1.30% w/w) were the market movers driving the week’s loss, despite sustained gains in PRESCO (+6.40% w/w), FBNH (+3.03% w/w) and WAPCO (+2.13% w/w).
Consequently, the year-to-date (YTD) return dipped to 10.69%, while the market capitalization shed N83.44bn w/w to close at N25.48trn.
Analysis of today’s market activities showed trade turnover settled lower relative to the previous session, with the value of transactions declining by 1.56%. A total of 599.51m shares valued at N3.83bn were exchanged in 4,289 deals. ETRANZACT (+0.00%) led the volume and value charts with 331.13m units traded in deals worth N880.81m.
Market breadth closed negative at a 1.54-to-1 ratio with declining issues outnumbering advancing ones. MRS (-9.96%) led nineteen (19) others on the laggard’s table, while PZ (+9.55%) topped twelve (12) others on the gainer’s log.
A total turnover of 2.449 billion shares worth N20.653 billion in 20,764 deals was traded this week by investors on the floor of the Exchange, in contrast to a total of 2.798 billion shares valued at N23.859 billion that exchanged hands last week in 22,970 deals.
Trading in the top three equities namely FCMB Group Plc, ETranzact International Plc, and Fidelity Bank Plc (measured by volume) accounted for 1.472 billion shares worth N5.064 billion in 1,006 deals, contributing 60.12% and 24.52% to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
Meanwhile, this week, global stocks posted broadly positive performances as renewed optimism about global growth outweighed lingering geopolitical tensions arising from the Russia/Ukraine conflict. Accordingly, US (DJIA: +4.7%; S&P 500: +4.9%) stocks snapped a four-week rout buoyed by a rebound in tech stocks whilst investors digested Fed’s hawkish comments.
European markets (STOXX Europe: +4.5%; and FTSE 100: +3.2%) were set for a second consecutive weekly gain as bets on risk assets gained traction following news of diplomacy talks between Russia and Ukraine.
Asian markets posted mixed performances, as the Japanese Nikkei 225: (+6.6%) rallied mirroring the positive sentiments on Wall Street. Conversely, the SSE: (-1.8%) erased gains accumulated earlier in the week as investors anticipated the outcome of talks between US President Joe Biden and Chinese president, Xi Jinping.
Emerging (MSCI EM: +3.2%) and Frontier (MSCI FM: +0.5%) market stocks mirrored the bullish trend across global stocks consequent upon gains in South Korea (+1.7%) and Vietnam (+0.4%), respectively.
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