Sentiments remain negative on Nigerian bourse as Index down 0.77% Thursday

Sentiments remained negative in the Nigerian equities market on Thursday, as the All-Share Index (ASI) of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) dropped further by 0.77 per cent  to 35,086.67 points, owing to sell pressure across value stocks, as well as market’s negative reaction to the apex bank’s fine on STANBIC and DIAMONDBNK for improperly repatriating funds on behalf of telecommunications company MTN Nigeria.

Accordingly, the Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date losses increased to 5.22 per cent and 8.25 per cent respectively.

Among sectoral indices, the Industrial Goods (-2.30%) index posted the largest loss, followed by the Banking (-1.77%), Insurance (-1.48%), and Oil & Gas (-0.80%) indices, owing to losses in the shares of WAPCO (-7.06%), ACCESS (-3.16%), MANSARD (-9.80%), and FO (-7.83%) respectively.

On the flip side, the Consumer Goods (+ 0.20%) index closed higher, owing to interest in GUINNESS (+5.56%) shares, following the release of its 2018FY result, wherein PAT growth of 249% y/y was posted and dividend of NGN1.84/share (c.3x 2017FY dividend) was proposed.

Market breadth remained negative, with 27 losers and 11 gainers, led by MANSARD (-9.80%), and NEM (+10.00%) respectively. Total volume of trades dropped 17.52% to 284.60 million units, valued at NGN3.44 billion (+51.94%), and exchanged in 3,303 deals.

“Our outlook for equities in the short to medium term remains conservative, in the absence of a one-off positive trigger, and amidst political jitters surrounding the upcoming 2019 elections. However, stable macroeconomic fundamentals remain supportive of recovery in the long term”.   Analysts at Cordros Capital said.