Improved buying interest extends rally into 8th session

The local bourse extended gains into the 8th consecutive session as the benchmark All Share Index (ASI) climbed 2.4% in yesterday’s session to settle at 38,803.74 points. The bullish sentiment was driven by sustained buying interest in AIRTELAF (+10.0%) as well as bargain hunting in BUACEMENT (+9.1%) and NB (+1.8%).

Following the bullish performance, YTD returns improved to 44.6% while investors’ wealth improved by N475.6bn to settle at N20.3tn. The level of buying interest in today’s session was reflected in activity level as volume and value traded surged 238.6% and 82.2% to 1.5bn units and N18.7bn, respectively.

Across sectors, the performance was mildly bullish as three of the five major sectors under our coverage edged northwards. Leading the gainers, the Industrial goods index gained 3.1% following strong buying interest in BUACEMENT (+9.1%) and WAPCO (+0.2%). Similarly, the Consumer goods and Banking indices climbed 0.4% and 0.2% respectively following price upticks in NB (+1.8%), GUINNESS (+1.6%), UBA (+1.2%) and ETI (+0.8%).

On the other hand, the Insurance index shed 0.8% in today’s session as sell-offs in MANSARD (-3.0%) weighed on the index. The Oil & Gas index traded flat as no component of the index recorded price changes.

Investor sentiment improved significantly, surging to 3.4x from 0.7x recorded previously as 24 stocks gained against 7 decliners. The surge in investor sentiment coupled with the strong buying interest in today’s session indicates sustained investor appetite for risk assets while we think the DANGCEM-led rally may have stoked investors’ interest in other assets thus keeping the rally alive.