The rally on the Nigerian Exchange Limited entered its seventh day on Monday, resulting in a daily gain of N365bn and a compound gain of N3.5tn from the rally which started on December 28, 2023.
At the close of Monday’s trading, the benchmark index of the exchange, the All-Share Index had crossed the 80,000 mark to settle at 80,328.57 basis points. The Market capitalisation rose by 0.83 per cent to N43.957tn.
The volume of shares traded also rose by 33.33 per cent to 1,190,164,298 units valued at over N15.256bn which were exchanged in 16,081 deals.
The major movers of the day’s market were the stocks of Transcorp, Fidelity Bank, Access Holdings Plc, FCMB Group, and United Bank for Africa, which crossed N1tn in market cap on the back of increased activity in banking stocks.
Market Breadth which is the measure of investors’ sentiment remained positive and resulted in 54 gainers and 17 losers.
Analysts believed that the upward trajectory of the market signifies a substantial demand for Nigerian stocks, setting the stage for the imminent reporting and dividend earning season. Thus, the opening week of the New Year not only witnessed remarkable market highs but also surpassed historical benchmarks.
Leading the gainers’ chart were the stocks of Cornerstone Insurance Plc, Cutix Plc, Julius Berger, LASACO, Omatek Plc, and Jaiz Bank, which gained 10 per cent in market value to close at N1.87, N2.75, N46.75, N2.42, N0.99 and N2.53 per unit respectively.
The losers include the stocks of Daar Communications which lost 9.30 per cent to close at N1.17, Eterna Oil which lost 8.79 per cent to close at N15.05, Computer Warehouse Group lost 7.05 per cent to close at N8.30, PZ Cussons lost 6.90 per cent to close at N27 per unit and Fidelity Bank stocks which were one of the top three stocks during last week’s trading lost 5.99 per cent to close at N13.35 per unit.
Commenting on the bullish run of the market, a financial expert, Brain Essien, said it might not be a bad thing to expect a market correction this year.
Tracing the historical bullish run of the market, Essien said, “The Nigerian Capital Market, Primary and Secondary, more particularly the NGX, has had quite an unexpected but stellar 52-week run. Thus, concerns for the 2024 fiscal season are quite valid considering that this run started as far back as 2020. Cumulatively, stock trading alone has returned more than 100 per cent in less than half a decade for Nigerian and even some foreign investors. Therefore, it would be prudent to expect a market correction, particularly of a very depressing kind, going into the new year considering that many equities right now, particularly banking stocks are, in my opinion, quite overpriced to say the least.
“However, considering the amount of activity still expected in the year, with forthcoming new issues, and listings from private companies, alongside the projected NNPCL listing, and perhaps even Dangote Refinery, I believe the NGX still has some gas in the tank yet, and may just offer investors just about the same in terms of returns as it did in 2023, if not more. These will however also depend, somewhat, on the Tinubu Administration following through on budget promises and greater economic stimulus from FDIs and FPIs he and his team have worked so hard to attract in the previous year.”
Making projections, the researchers at Cowry Asset Management Limited, said that the market is poised for mixed sentiment, “Potentially influenced by profit-taking activities within the local market. As the NGX-ASI approaches the threshold of 80,000+, market participants are expected to position themselves strategically and take considerable advantage of the price corrections.”
The weekly market report added that the coming Monetary Policy Committee meeting in January and the impending earnings and reporting season are anticipated to be factors shaping market dynamics in the near term.
