The Nigerian domestic equities market experienced a bullish sentiment for most of the previous week, driven by positive corporate earnings announcements for Q2-24. Notably, strong buying interest in AIRTELAFRI, which saw its stock price increase by 4.8%, propelled the All-Share Index (ASI) to a weekly gain of 0.9%, reaching 100,539.40 points. This is the highest level since April 15, 2024, when the ASI stood at 101,777.12 points. As a result, the Month-to-Date (MTD) return improved to +0.5%, and the Year-to-Date (YTD) return surged to +34.5%.
Trading Activity and Sector Performance
Despite the positive movement in the index, overall trading activity remained subdued. Total Trading Volume increased slightly by 2.2% week-on-week, while total Trading Value declined sharply by 50.3% week-on-week. Meanwhile, sectoral performance showed a mixed picture as the Insurance Sector experienced a decline of 4.9%, while Consumer Goods Sector fell by 0.2%.
The Oil and Gas Sector also recorded a minor drop of 0.1% while the Banking Sector remained unchanged.
Market Outlook
Experts say the market is poised for further developments as the full commencement of the H1-24 earnings season is expected to influence investor sentiment anticipating upcoming corporate earnings reports to play a significant role in shaping market dynamics.
Additionally, investors are also closely monitoring the forthcoming Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting scheduled this week. As the outcome of this meeting is expected to provide crucial insights into the future direction of yields in the fixed-income market, which could subsequently impact the equities market.
