Gains in telecoms giant, MTNN (+4.35%) set the tone for the equities index tracker’s performance as the ASI posted a return of +0.36%. All sub-indices closed under water led by sell-down in Buacement (1.94%) alongside decline among the banks: Guaranty (-1.02%), ETI (-2.11%) and Access (-0.52%) though Zenith (+0.76%) and FBNH (+0.85%) advanced to salvage points.
Turnover was decent at $10.13m dominated by offshore crosses in Guaranty ($2.2m), ETI ($0.5m); local block trades in MTNN ($1.1m) and fragmented trades in Zenith, UBA, Nestle. Ytd return on the index rose to +3.84%. We expect the market to remain pressured on low prices of crude oil due to weakening global demand.
