Performance at the local equities market was dominated with bearish sentiments as the bulls sustained the previous week rally. The market opened the week strong with a 174 bps gain which was followed by impressive gains on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The market however waned by 1bps on Thursday ahead of the Christmas holiday. Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) closed the week with a 5.42% gain WoW to close at 38,800.01 with market capitalization adding N1.05tn to settle at N20.28tn. In Summary, the year-to-date (YtD) performance improves to +44.55%.
Market breadth, a measure of Investors’ sentiment declined from 3.12x to 1.94x as 35 stocks advanced while 18 stocks declined last week. FTNCOCOA (+43.55%), JAPAULGOLD (+41.18) and BOCGAS(+20.83%) were the top market gainers while TRANSEXPR (-9.20%), JOHN HOLT (-8.93%) and CHAMPION (-7.87%) top the losers’ chart.
Market activity level was positive as both the volume and value of transaction advanced by 48% and 156% respectively.
Trading in Access Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc and AXA Mansard Insurance Plc accounted for 1.439 billion shares worth N13.881 billion in 2,972 deals, contributing 52.23% and 34.44% to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
Outlook for the week
We expect to see some mixed activity this week as some investors hunt for bargains and others take profits with low fixed income yield influencing decision.
FIXED INCOME MARKET
Participants in the FGN bond market traded with caution in anticipation for the Yuletide holiday. The activity was majorly driven by sell-side activity across the bond curve with Average benchmark yields rising by 63bps to close at6.19%.
The NTB market remained quiet in all the trading sessions last week with average benchmark yields falling by 2bps to 0.34%.
At the Eurobond, the market, the new strain of coronavirus, fear of crude oil demand slump and its implied impact on crude oil prices held investors in a cautious sentiment with a bearish bias across tickers. Consequently, the average benchmark yields rose by 18bps to 5.67%.
Outlook for the week
In the absence of any catalyst to drive the market, we expect the market to trade sideways as the year winds to a close.
GLOBAL MARKETS
The US S&P 500 and Dow Jones indices both advanced by 0.75% and 0.70% following upbeat on the new stimulus package. Other global stocks also closed positive safe UK FTSE with concerns about rising numbers of coronavirus cases and update on post-Brexit trade deal impacting bearish sentiments. Notably, German DAX and French CAC advanced by 1.17% and 1.10% while UK FTSE waned by 0.41%.
Outlook for the week
We expect reactions on the UK post Brexit deals and development from the US stimulus package to buoyed market performance this week.
