The equities market posted its first gains for the year as the index rose by +62bps. Muted selling and increased bargain hunting in banking major – Guaranty (+6.07) was responsible for the day’s performance, alongside gains in Zenith (+2.86%), FBNH (+0.71%) and partial recovery from the previous session’s slump on tiny volumes in Dangcem (+0.88%). However, the consumers – Nestle (-3.37%) and Guinness (-10.00%) retreated together with persistent sell-offs in Access (-3.64%).
Market turnover fell to N3.1bn ($8.4m) buoyed by crosses involving mixed interests in Custodian ($1.9m), Zenith ($0.7m) and FBNH ($0.6m) whilst foreign counterparts exchanged Guaranty ($0.5m). Ytd loss on the index shrunk to -6.09%. We expect the market to trade sideways in the next session.
