The equities market rose by the most in almost a month (+1.17%) as more foreign monies chased stocks perhaps buoyed by the recent FTSE Russell Index decision to retain Nigeria in its Frontier Market index after over a year of a deliberations of a downgrade to stand alone. Large caps shrugged off recent lackluster trading, index heavyweight – Dangcem(+2.38%) rose to a 1-month high on renewed foreign interest. NB(+1.24%) bounced off a 10-week low on improved demand. Banking stocks were also impressive – foreign investors sustained buying in Zenith(+1.15%) and Guaranty(+0.63%); Stanbic rallied near its all-time high of N41.20 and UBA(+2.22%) closed at a 5-week high on aggressive foreign buying. Presco(+5%) and Wapco(+4%) were the biggest notable movers.
Market activities however remained subdued following a dry up in offer volumes. Turnover of N2.83bn ($7.86m) was 35% below the daily average of N4.3bn for the year. Today’s gain pushed ytd return to +33.11%, we expect the market to tick higher tomorrow on sustained foreign buying.
