Late buying in Nestle (+4.72%) by local interests lifted the index by +15bps. Weak market sentiments witnessed in recent sessions persisted as the index appeared to be heading towards extending its losing streak due to sustained selling in the banks and consumers. However, partial recovery in Zenith (-0.67%) from its intraday slump of -5.99% masked the day’s performance alongside late gains in Guaranty (+0.56%) and FBNH (1.22%). A decline in Dangcem (-1.03%) and Guinness (-4.69%) had a pullback effect on the index.
Market turnover fell to N2.3bn ($6.2m), dominated by mixed crosses in FBNH ($1.2m) and offshore block trades in Diamondb ($0.7m). Ytd loss on the index shrunk to -0.22%. We expect the market to trade sideways in the next session.
