Jan 19 (Lagos) - The ASI again rode south on the back of declines in the Banking (-0.73%), Oil & Gas (-46bps) and Industrial goods (-0.27%) sectors. In spite of the attractive price levels of most fundamentally sound stocks when compared to their target prices, trading sessions for the week have been largely controlled by the Bears, due to profit taking on gains made in the previous week. Given that the index has closed south in the last two sessions, we expect some bargain hunting activities to return tomorrow, driven by low prices.
Stocks to Watch
With the continued interest in stocks such as;
WAPIC (+10.00%),
NEM (+10.00%),
PRESTIGE (+10.00%),
GUINEAINS (+10.00%),
AIICO (+985bps),
NCR (975bps),
LINKASSURE (+933bps),
AFRINSURE (+909bps),
UNIVINSURE (+909bps) and
LASACO (+816bps) among others, the Insurance sector again closed as the best performing sector for the day, recording a gain of 6.29%, while its YTD return improved further to +44.90%.
ARDOVA (-863bps) trailed JAPAULGOLD (-986bps) as the second worst performing stock for the day, as both counters closed lower at N 18.00 and N 1.28 respectively. Following the significant gains recorded in the last two weeks, the tickers have both witnessed profit taking in the last three sessions, as short term players continue to take advantage of recent gains.
Despite trading flat for most of today's session, the ASI slipped into the negative territory during the pre-close period, ending the day marginally down by 7bps to close at 41,051.63 points. A mixed pattern was recorded during the day, as investors' took position in counters such as
WAPCO (+208bps),
NB (+167bps) and
GUARANTY (+30bps), while we saw declines in ARDOVA (-863bps),
ACCESS (-365bps) and
BUACEMENT (-113bps).
Similarly, market activity again closed mixed, as the total volume traded reduced by 9.84% to 912.86mn units, while the total turnover appreciated by 28.42% to ?5.57bn (thanks to trades in BUACEMENT,
ZENITHBANK and
GUARANTY which accounted for 56.44% of the total value traded). Though the ASI closed in the red, however, market breadth remained in the positive territory improving to 2.25x (vs 1.59x posted yesterday), as a total of 45 stocks recorded capital appreciation, while 20 stocks closed south.
reporting for easykobo.com on Tuesday Jan 19 2021 from Lagos, Nigeria