The equities market index rose by +0.82% driven by improved demand in the banks, led by Guaranty (+3.73%). Stanbic (+1.11%), FBNH (+0.61%) and Zenith (+0.23%) all advanced to consolidate the strength of the banks alongside gains in Dangcem (+0.85%). Early local crosses in Access (-0.72%) at limit upset the tone for an exciting trading session which however fizzled on increased selling activities in the stock. PZ (-6.67%), Nascon (-4.31%) and Cadbury (-10.00%) buckled among the consumers to taper gains in Intbrew (+8.11%).
Market turnover remained flat N2.6bn ($7.3m), boosted by offshore crosses in Guaranty ($0.9m) whilst Access ($1.4m) involved mixed interests. Ytd loss on the index shrunk to -0.93% whilst wtd return was flat at -0.01%. We expect the market to find support at current levels next week.