The equities market surged to a 9-year high today as the buying frenzy gained more traction amid increased domestic participation. Index heavyweight – Dangcem gave the bourse its biggest boost for the third consecutive session, jumping +5% to a new record on last minute domestic buying. Sentiment were mixed in the banks – FBNH(+7.08%) and UBA(+3.17%) lead in the tier I banking space; domestic investors sustained bullish bets in tier IIs – Diamond(+10.10%), Fidelity(+9.75%) and FCMB(+9.70%) all closed on strong net bid. Foreign selling kept Access(+0.90%) subdued and depressed Zenith(-1.01%). Consumer stocks also traded mixed – Guinness(+5%) closed on bid following thin liquidity while NB(-2.30%), Dangsugar(-1.45%) and Cadbury(-4.97%) tumbled on risk aversion
Turnover closed high at N12.5bn ($34.5m) buoyed by block trades in Dangcem($7.5m), Guaranty($5.1m) and huge activities in Access($2.9m). Today’s +1.89% gain lifted ytd return to +17.37%, we expect the market to tick lower tomorrow on profit taking in large caps.
