A few names got some respite today even though these gains were offset by price correction in MTN Nigeria (-4.40%). Market breath was positive with 27 gainers to 10 losers despite the ASI dipping by 0.22%. The banking subsector (+1.88%) received some love following the release of Zenith Bank’s H1 numbers and sustained H1 dividend payment. The sentiment generally is that if the banks pay the dame dividends that were paid last year, the probable dividend yields at current levels is exciting to investors local and international. Guaranty was the outlier today in terms of activities, accounting for a third of the day’s turnover. Nestle looked like it was staging a major rebound following a cross of 400,000 shares; the stock however finished in the positive region after recording marginal gains .
Today session was dominated by Foreign investors activities. Meanwhile, we saw some improvement in the level of activities from retail investors today, though nothing aggressive and their interest stems from probable attractive yields. Zenith for example at current levels if the company pays same dividend as last year is translating to a dividend yield of c.16%.
Turnover dipped by 23% to N3.20bn ($9m). Major were recorded in Guaranty, Zenith, Nestle, MTN and ETI accounted for 84% of total turnover. UACN recouped more grounds closing on a net bid at N5.25 after touching a 15 year low at N4.50; ETI also closed 4.17% at N6.25 after touching a low of N6.00; ETI has not traded this low in over a decade.
