Stocks Gain N90Bn Over Buying Interest in MTNN, NB

With about N90 billion gain recorded, Nigerian stocks inch higher on Thursday following buying interest in bellwether and some mid-cap companies’ shares after a downturn in the previous day.

Reversing the previous day trend, the local bourse closed positive due to bargain hunting witnessed in MTNN (+0.9%), NIGERIAN BREWERIES (+6.4%), and ETI (+6.2%).

The positive drive lifted the Nigerian Exchange All-share index (NGX-ASI) UP 41 basis points to 41,961.14 points.

Accordingly, market capitalisation gained ₦89.5 billion to ₦21.9 trillion while year to date returns improved to 4.2%. Stock market activity strengthened as volume and value traded rose 96.4% and 37.5% respectively to 558.9 million units and ₦4.4 billion.

The most traded stocks by volume were FBNH (162.6m units), TRANSCORP (115.7m units), and CILEASING (63.4m units) while FBNH (₦1.9bn), UBA (₦509.4m), and CILEASING (₦291.8m) led by value.

Afrinvest said sector performance within its coverage universe was bullish as 5 indices gained while 1 index lost. The Consumer Goods led gainers, up 1.5% following price appreciation in NIGERIAN BREWERIES (+6.4%) and GUINNESS (+10.0%).

Trailing, the Banking and AFR-ICT indices gained 0.7% and 0.5% respectively due to bargain hunting in UBA (+1.2%), ETI (+6.2%), and MTNN (+0.9%).

Similarly, buying interest in OANDO (+1.0%), and WAPCO (+1.6%) buoyed a 0.2% and 0.1% gain in the Oil & Gas and Industrial Goods indices respectively.

On the flip side, the Insurance index was the lone loser, down 0.2% on account of profit-taking in MANSARD (-6.0%) and NEM (-2.5%).

Investor Sentiment Strengthens

Investor sentiment, as measured by market breadth, strengthened to 1.6x from 1.5x as 21 stocks gained against 13 losers. UPL (+10.0%), GUINNESS (+10.0%), and CADBURY (+10.0%) led gainers while MANSARD (-6.0%), JAPAULGOLD (-4.4%), and COURTVILLE (-4.3%) led the laggards.

In the final trading session, analysts at Afrinvest Limited expect the market to sustain its bullish performance following the impressive 9-month 2021 earnings results from companies.

On the corporate side, LAFARGE reported its 9M: 2021 results which showed a 21.9% year on year increase in revenue to ₦219.2 billion. The cement company’s operating profit jumped 17.1% to ₦48.1 billion despite a 4.8% year on year growth in operating expenses.

For the period, Lafarge Africa ends with a 43.3% increase in profit after tax to  ₦40.4 billion. # Stocks Gain N90Bn Over Buying Interest in MTNN, NB

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