…the market capitalization gained N49.53 billion w/w to close at N56.09 trillion with the MTD and YTD returns settling at -1.0% and +30.5%, respectively.
SAT OCT 12 2024-theGBJournal| The NGX benchmark index powered to an unexpected high on Friday and capped off a mixed week of trading to usher in a promising start to the third-quarter earnings season.
The benchmark index, the All-Share Index, gained 21bps w/w as investor’s interest in MTNN (+0.37% w/w), SEPLAT (+5.09% w/w) and FBNH (+4.00% w/w) bolstered the market’s performance, overriding selloffs in GTCO (-0.20% w/w), ZENITHBANK (-0.13% w/w) and UBA (-3.11%w/w).
As a result, the market capitalization gained N49.53 billion w/w to close at N56.09 trillion with the MTD and YTD returns settling at -1.0% and +30.5%, respectively.
Trading activities were mixed, as trading volume increased by 3.1% w/w, while trading value declined by 76.4% w/w.
On sectors, the Oil & Gas (+1.6%), Banking (+0.5%), and Insurance (+0.1%) indices advanced, while the Consumer Goods (-1.3%) and Industrial Goods (-0.1%) indices declined.
Trading in the top three equities namely Tantalizer Plc, Coronation Insurance Plc and Fidelity Bank Plc (measured by volume) accounted for 1.625 billion shares worth N3.908 billion in 1,814 deals, contributing 54.80% and 12.40% to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
Looking ahead, analysts expect investors to maintain a cautious trading approach, with sentiments likely skewed towards the bearish side as investors monitor activities in the fixed-income market.
As such, intermittent profit-taking to persist is expected. However, this could be balanced by bargain-hunting activities as investors prepare for the upcoming Q3-24 earnings season.
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