The equities market rallied an impressive +1.28% today as returning foreign investors joined in the macro optimism, pushing blue chips higher on modest volumes. Tier I banks gave the index its biggest boost – Zenith(+5%) and Guaranty(+3.77%) jumped on foreign buying while domestic demand pushed UBA(+4.36%) to a 9-year high. Tier IIs closed strong for a third consecutive session – Diamond(+9.88%), FCMB(+9.83%) and Fidelity(+5%) all closed on bid. Other notable gainers include upstream major- Seplat(+3.80%) which jumped to a 38-month high on higher oil prices. Bargain hunting lifted Wapco(+4.25%); NB(+0.74%) steadied on fresh foreign interest while Dangflour(+10.12%) and Flourmill(+5%) closed limit up on speculation. Bucking today’s trend was Nestle(-3.60%) which dropped on profit taking and PZ(-3.77%) which slipped on risk aversion. Market breadth closed strong with gainers outpacing losers 8:1
Fresh foreign participation helped lift turnover to N3.8bn ($10.7m) with Nestle and Zenith receiving the most foreign attention. Domestic investors were more dominant in tier II banks. Ytd return advanced to +1.13%, we expect the market to tick higher in coming sessions on residual demand.
