The Nigerian equities market took a breather today with a +0.48% uptick in the NSEASI which closed at 35,137.99 points. Rebounds in index heavyweights Airtelafri (+8.75%), Mobil(+9.20%) and Zenithbank(+1.70%) effectively muted a cross-induced decline in cement major Dangcem (-2.93%) and weaknesses in top banks FBNH(-1.39%); Guaranty(-1.04%) and Access (-0.58%). Dangsugar (-2.56%) and UACN (-2.05%) and Guinness (-0.56%) also retreated from the Consumer goods space. Market breath was flattish with about one gainer recorded for each decliner.
Market turnover was N4.3bln ($11.2m), buoyed mainly by block trades involving mixed interests in Dangcem, Nestle, UBA and Stanbic. The NSEASI gained +0.72% w/w while ytd return also improved to +30.91%. We expect the market to maintain a mixed trading pattern in the coming week.
