28th February, 2020

A strong negative reaction to the confirmation of the first case of the CoronaVirus in Nigeria was seen in the Nigerian equities market today (ASI declined 2.21% to close at 26,216.46bps) as bellwether stocks including but not limited to NB (-10.00%), OANDO (-10.00%), ETI (-10.00%) and CADBURY (-10.00%) took massive blows. Total volume and value traded for the day increased by 79.81% and 38.18% respectively as activity level once again closed higher, even though most trades occurred on the offer side. Similarly, the WTD and MTD performances closed significantly lower at -4.28% and -9.11% respectively as the ASI gave up the initial gains made at the beginning of the year bringing YTD returns to -2.33%.

What will shape the market tomorrow? 

With 55 countries confirming cases of the Coronavirus at the end of this week, the global market recorded its worst weekly performance since the global recession in 2008 (London Stock Exchange (LSE): -9.78%; Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE): -5.24%; Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE): -4.28%). With no proven cure and the imminent spread of the virus to other countries, we see no deviation from this bearish patter next week.  

Reporting for EasyKobo on Friday , 28 February 2020 in Lagos, Nigeria

Source: Vetiva Capital Management Limited