…A total of 503.84m shares valued at N7.21bn were exchanged in 5,747 deals.
…Sustained gains in AIRTELAFRI (+2.10%) and GTCO (+0.26%) pushed the broader index into the positive terrain
SAT, DEC 09 2023-theGBJournal|Nigerian equities staged a rebound on Friday, the last trading session of the week, recouping the prior session loss as the benchmark index closed 0.12% stronger to settle at 71,541.74 points.
All other indices finished higher with the exception of NGX Main Board, NGX Insurance, NGX ASeM, NGX Oil & Gas, NGX Lotus II and NGX Industrial Goods which depreciated by 0.54%, 1.44%, 1.03%, 0.58%, 0.22% and 3.03% respectively while the NGX Sovereign Bond index closed flat.
Sustained gains in AIRTELAFRI (+2.10%) and GTCO (+0.26%) pushed the broader index into the positive terrain. Having gained in three (3) out of five (5) trading sessions this week, the ASI closed 0.17% higher w/w, its seventh consecutive weekly growth.
During the week, strong performances across MTNN (+0.25% w/w), UBA (+5.63% w/w) and STANBIC (+6.37% w/w) were sufficient to offset the losses in BUACEMENT (-7.21% w/w), DANSUGAR (-0.52% w/w) and OANDO (-12.29%).
As a result, the year-to-date (YTD) return rose to 39.59%, while the market capitalization gained N45.87bn w/w to close at N39.15trn.
Analysis of today’s market activities showed trade turnover settled higher relative to the previous session, with the value of transactions up by 15.41%.
A total of 503.84m shares valued at N7.21bn were exchanged in 5,747 deals. MBENEFIT (+1.92%) led the volume chart with 67.28m units traded while AIRTELAFRI (+2.10) led the value chart in deals worth N1.95bn.
Market breadth closed negative at a 1.38-to-1 ratio with declining issues outnumbering advancing ones. FBNH (-10.00%) topped twenty-one others on the laggard’s table while MULTIVERSE (+9.95%) led fifteen others on the leader’s log.
Meanwhile, mixed sentiments dominated global equities following fears over a slowing US economy, Chinese economic growth, Japanese monetary policy, and worries that the recent surge in stocks may be overdone.
Accordingly, US equities (DJIA: -0.4%; S&P 500: -0.2%) traded with mixed sentiments following recent labour market data (ADP payroll) signalling a slowdown in the US economy.
Simultaneously, European equities (STOXX Europe: +0.6%; FTSE 100: -0.2%) posted mixed performances mirroring the downbeat global sentiment amid prospects that declining inflation and slow economic growth should prompt central banks to lower interest rates in the medium term.
Elsewhere, Asian markets (Nikkei 225: -3.4%; SSE: -2.0%) closed lower, with investors paying close attention to statements from Bank of Japan (BoJ) officials hinting a potential departure from the negative interest-rate policy sooner than anticipated.
Adding to the gloom, Moody’s widespread downgrade of the outlook for several prominent Chinese companies, aligning with its slash of the outlook on the Chinese government’s credit rating and 22 local government financing vehicles (LGFVs), further contributed to the risk-off sentiments.
Lastly, the Emerging (MSCI EM: -1.2%) market declined, fueled by bearish sentiments in China (-2.0%), while the Frontier (MSCI FM: +0.1%) market closed higher, buoyed by the bullish performance of Vietnam (+1.9%).
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