The NSEASI retreated by -0.25% to 34,968.94 today as lingering weakness in a few counters weighed on the market. The banks appeared to be succumbing to profit taking as most names in that space retreated. They were led by UBA(-5.20%); ETI (-6.35%); Zenith(-1.88%); Guaranty(-1.47%); FBNH(-1.37%) and Access(-1.15%), while some weakness was also observed in consumer goods names including Cadbury(-5.43%), Guinness(-2.17%); PZ (-2.04%) and Flourmill(-1.89%). The only major advancer on the day was telecoms giant MTN(+0.77%) which rallied on local demand.
Market turnover stood at N7.4bln ($19.2m), buoyed mainly by block trades in MTNN which accounted for about 55% of the market turnover for the day. The ytd return on the market index narrowed to +30.28%. We expect the market to maintain a similar trading pattern in the coming session.
