In the just concluded week, the local equities market closed negatively amid renewed profit-taking activity. Specifically, the NSE ASI plunged by 1.41% week-on-week to 24,828.75 points. Given the renewed bearish sentiment, especially on the oil and gas stocks, three of the sub-sector gauges closed in the red.
The NSE Oil/Gas index, NSE Insurance index, and the NSE Banking index declined by 4.86%, 3.11% and 3.06% to 208.65 points, 131.54 points, and 290.81 points respectively.
On a positive note, the NSE Industrial index and the NSE Consumer Goods index rose by 2.24% and 1.81% to 1,219.69 points and 432.89 points respectively.
Meanwhile, market activity was mixed as total deals and Naira votes increased by 19.58% and 3.43% to 19, 515 deals and N10.06 billion respectively.
However, transaction volumes fell by 4.13% to 1.04 billion shares.
In the new week, we expect the domestic equities market to close positively as investors take advantage of the relatively low prices. Also, we may see the share price of Dangote Cement appreciate as it began exportation of clinker in the just concluded week. Hence, we advise our clients to buy stocks with strong fundamentals and good dividend yields.
Cowry Asset Research
