February Kicks Off with Positive Vibes in the Equities Market as ASI Climbs by 1.6%

The equities market entered February on a high note as the All Share Index (ASI) jumped by 1.63%, highlighting a bullish trend. After rebounding from a downturn in the previous session, the market witnessed a resurgence in investor confidence, particularly in BUA Foods and leading banking stocks, which in turn boosted the benchmark index.

A Glimpse into Market Dynamics

The favorable swing resulted in the ASI index advancing by 1.63% to close at 102,802.25 basis points. This positive movement also reflected in both the Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date returns, now standing at +1.6% and +37.5% respectively.

Subsequently, market capitalization experienced a massive rise by N901.78 billion, touching a new mark at N56.26 trillion. The market sentiment was decidedly optimistic, which was evident from the market breadth; there were 52 gainers against only 17 losing entities.

Top Performers and Sectoral Growth

The star performers of the day were Caverton Support Group and Champs, both enjoying a 10.0% upswing in their share values. Conversely, Deap Capital and CWG lagged behind, witnessing a drop of 9.9% in their stock prices.

Examining the sector-specific performance, the Banking sector outshone others with an impressive 7.8% raise, thanks to the strong buying interest in heavyweight banks such as Zenith Bank, Access Holdings, United Bank for Africa, Guaranty Trust Holding Company and Fidelity Bank.

Trailing behind was the Consumer Goods sector, climbing by 4.37%, with companies like Dangote Sugar, Honeywell Flour, Cadbury and BUA Foods driving the advance. Insurance, Oil/Gas, and Industrial sectors also contributed to the growth, posting returns of 2.18%, 0.02%, and 0.35% respectively.

Trading Volume and The Most Traded Securities

Despite the general bullish sentiment, trading turned somewhat bearish in terms of the number of deals and traded value, which saw a decrease of 10.06% and 45.96% respectively. However, there was an increase in the total traded volume by 14.93% amounting to 861.01 million units.

Leading the trade volumes was Universal Insurance, with 113.76 million units exchanged in 110 deals, while Zenith Bank captured the top spot in value traded, hitting the N2.76 billion mark.

Equities, Investment, Markets