The equities market ended a choppy week on a positive note boosted by strong bargain hunting following recent declines. Cement majors gave the index a big lift – Dangcem(+1.43%) and Wapco(+4.04%) rose on decent demand. Banking stocks were also impressive – UBA(+4.91%), Guaranty(+1.67%) and Zenith(+0.23%) all advanced on strong demand. Investors’ sentiment was mixed in consumer names – Unilever(+5%), PZ(+5%) and Nestle(+0.40%) jumped on strong foreign buying while NB(-1.15%) and Dangsugar(-0.36%) dropped on weak demand and profit taking respectively.
Turnover was modest at N3.68bn ($10.18m) buoyed mainly by a block trade of 22m Guaranty shares ($2.4m) between foreign investors. Today’s gain lifted week-to-date return to +1.38%, ytd subsequently closed at +32.05%. We expect the market to tick higher next week on improved optimism.
