The Nigerian equities market last week sustained its bullish momentum, appreciating by N884 billion as investors reacted to 2024 financial year corporate earnings by quoted firms on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).
Notably, gains in Presco Plc that advanced by 19.77 per cent , FBN Holdings Plc that gained 10.2 per cent , and MTN Nigeria that saw its stock price appreciated by two per cent drove a 1.3per cent week-on-week W-o-W) increase in the NGX All-Share Index to 105,933.03 basis points, bringing the Year-to-Date return to +2.9per cent.
Similarly, the market capitalisation increased by N884 billion to the week at N65.592 trillion.
The market witnessed a positive performance sectors, except for the NGX Consumer Goods index, which declined by 0.60 per cent week-on-week.
On the other hand, the NGX Banking index led the gainers with a 4.66 per cent increase W-o-W. NGX-Insurance index followed with a weekly gain of 1.61 per cent, while NGX Commodity index rose by 1.29 per cent W-o-W.
The NGX Industrial and NGX-Oil & Gas indices also posted weekly gains of 0.85 per cent and 0.56 per cent, respectively.
The market breadth for the week was positive as 58 equities appreciated in price, 34 equities depreciated in price, while 58 equities remained unchanged. UPDC led the gainers table by 38.50 per cent to close at N2.59, per share. Eterna followed with a gain of 32.79 per cent to close at N36.65, while International Energy Insurance went up by 29.53 per cent to close to N2.50, per share.
On the other side, SUNU Assurance led the decliners table by 12.87 per cent to close at N5.01, per share. University Press followed with a loss of 10.00 per cent each to close at N5.04, while Multiverse Mining and Exploration declined by 9.95 per cent to close at N9.05, per share.
Overall, a total turnover of 3.051 billion shares worth N98.350 billion in 72,535 deals was traded last week by investors on the floor of the Exchange, in contrast to a total of 3.245 billion shares valued at N69.198 billion that exchanged hands previous week in 77,270 deals.
The Financial Services Industry (measured by volume) led the activity chart with 2.260 billion shares valued at N52.190 billion traded in 33,724 deals; contributing 74.08 per cent and 53.07 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
The Consumer Goods industry followed with 141.684 million shares worth N4.018 billion in 7,218 deals, while the Industrial Goods Industry traded a turnover of 104.862 million shares worth N3.300 billion in 3,995 deals.
Trading in the top three equities; Access Holdings, FBN Holdings (FBNH) and Zenith Bank accounted for 1.176 billion shares worth N38.469 billion in 9,506 deals, contributing 38.56 per cent and 39.11 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
Analysts expected sustained positive sentiments on the Nigerian stock market to continue this week as more companies released 2024 financial year end results on the Exchange.
The equities market commenced February on a positive note, extending its bullish streak. Investors continued to take positions in equities, driven by expectations of more impressive earnings releases and the anticipated January 2025 Consumer Price Index (CPI) data under the new methodology.
Looking ahead to the week, analysts at Cowry Assets Management Limited said “the bullish momentum is expected to continue, driven by the release of more impressive Q4 earnings reports. These reports are expected to provide insights into potential dividend payouts, based on corporate earnings performance and dividend policies.
“Additionally, macroeconomic data and upcoming economic events will shape market sentiment in the coming week. Investors will keep an eye on corporate disclosures and broader economic indicators to make informed decisions.”
United Capital Plc said that “looking forward, the equities market is expected to maintain its positive momentum as investors continue to position themselves ahead of the full year, 2024 earnings season and possible corporate action declarations. Nevertheless, given the elevated interest rate environment in the fixed-income market, we still expect bearish sentiments to linger in the background.”
On market outlook, the chief operating officer of InvestData Consulting Limited, Ambrose Omordion stated that “we expect mixed sentiments to continue as investors confidence boost positioning on strong corporate numbers, while rebalancing their portfolios midst high inflation and earnings expectations. Also, sector rotation and portfolio rebalancing continued in the market with investors taking advantage of price correction to buy into value.”
He added that this is amid the volatility and pullbacks that add more strength to upside potential, saying that “investors should take advantage of price correction. Also looking at the trends and events across the globe and domestically.”
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