Aug 21 (Lagos) - The Nigerian Equities Market closed in the red despite bargain hunting on Banking stocks. At midday, a cross in
MTNN (-610bps) resulted into the stock reversing the gains it made yesterday thus driving the ASI (-21bps) south to 27,058.62bps.
Trading activities on the local bourse slowed down as volume and value traded depreciated by 16% and 22% respectively, with
GUARANTY ,
ZENITHBANK and
NESTLE accounting for 35%, 18% and 16% of value traded respectively. A total of 27 stocks appreciated against 10 declines as market breadth remained positive at 2.7x.
What will shape the market tomorrow?
Although the Market closed in red, all sectoral indices closed in the green and market breadth remained in the positive region for 2 consecutive trading days indicating positive investor sentiment on the local bourse. With most counters trading at their lowest points in 52 weeks, investors are expected to take advantage and continue to position. However the direction of the ASI remains positively correlated with movement of market heavyweights (DANGCEM and MTNN), hence trades on them is expected to continue to impact the ASI.
Stocks to Watch
On the Bid Cart:
UACN recorded a price appreciation of 938bps to close the day at N5.25 and currently has a YTD loss of 46.15%. Trading at lowest price level in 5 years and offering significant upside potential, the stock is expected to witness renewed investors sentiment.
On the Offer Cart:
PZ depreciated by 833bps to close the day at N5.50. The stock traded just 216,000 units for the day with majority happening on the sell side.
PZ has recorded a YTD loss of 54.55%.
reporting for easykobo.com on Wednesday, Aug 21 2019 from Lagos, Nigeria