The ASI surged past the 40,000 mark for the first time in over 3years as investors’ strong risk appetite extended the rally for the fourth consecutive session. Banking stocks were the most sort after – tier Is such as Zenith(+4.86%) and Guaranty(+2.23%) hit multi-year highs on strong demand. Access(+4.16%) and UBA(+1.80%) also ticked higher and some tier II banks closed on bid. Index heavyweight – Dangcem(+1.38%) jumped on foreign demand. Consumer stocks traded mixed – Dangflour(+10%), Unilever(+2.33%) and Guinness(+2%) rose on strong foreign demand while Nestle(-3.33%), Glaxo(-1.36%) and Cadbury(-0.42%) dropped on profit taking.
Market turnover closed strong at N7.8bn ($21.7m) buoyed largely by block trades of 9mln NB involving a local seller and foreign buyer. Today’s +1.29% gain lifted ytd return to +5.54%, we expect the market rally to ease up in coming sessions.
