Stock Market closes final trading week up 1.47 percent

Stock market activities for the final trading week of the year 2016 ended on a strong note, recording a growth of 1.47 percent to sustain the positive thrust noted for most of November and December.

The upward performance thus reduced the market’s negative year-to-date returns to -6.17 percent for the 2016 financial year.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index (ASI) and Market Capitalization closed the week at 26,874.62 and N9.247 trillion respectively.

Similarly, all other Indices finished higher during the week with the exception of the NSE ASeM, NSE Oil/Gas and NSE Industrial Goods Indices that slipped 2.35 percent, 1.47 percent, and 0.15 percent respectively

Thirty-seven equities, led by Unity Bank with a 19.15 percent growth, appreciated in price during the week, higher than 26 equities of the previous week. Twenty-one equities, topped by Diamond Bank that fell 5.35 percent, depreciated in price, lower than 36 the previous week. One hundred and seventeen equities remained unchanged, compared with 113 in the preceding week.

Meanwhile, 405.939 million shares worth N3.724 billion in 6,363 deals were traded in the week in contrast to 1.261 billion shares valued at N17.520 billion that exchanged hands previous week in 14,861 deals.

The Financial Services Industry as measured by volume led the activity chart with 305.885 million shares valued at N2.066 billion traded in 3,445 deals. This contributed 75.35 percent and 55.46 percent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

The Consumer Goods Industry followed with 30.974 million shares worth N793.114 million in 1,096 deals and the third place was occupied by Conglomerates Industry with a turnover of 19.701 million shares worth N24.689 million in 261 deals.

The most-traded stocks for the week as measured by volume were Omoluabi Savings and Loans, Guaranty Trust Bank and FCMB Group. They accounted for 128.546 million shares worth N1.222 billion in 715 deals, contributing 31.66 percent and 32.82 percent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

Also traded during the week were 9,965 units of Exchange Traded Products valued at N56,446.35 executed in 16 deals, compared with 10,170 units valued at N123.641.70 transacted previous week in 22 deals.

There were no bond transactions last week, contrasting with 25,219 units of Federal Government and Corporate Bonds valued at N24.458 million in the previous week in three deals.

Market Recap for the year

The overall value of the market represented by the market capitalization shrunk by N605 billion from N9.851 trillion it closed in 2015 to the N9.246 trillion as the closing figure for 2016.

The NSE’s flagship index, the ASI declined by 6.17 percent to close at 26,874.62 in 2016, in contrast to a decline of 17.4 percent in 2015 when it closed at 28,642 points.

The declining performance was however due to a combined prevalence of political uncertainty, currency volatility, uncertainty in global crude oil prices, unrest in oil producing communities, and other macroeconomic challenges leading the nation to an economic recess.

A review of sector performance for the year indicated that the NSE Industrial Goods Index was worst hit in 2016 plunging 26.37 percent. This was followed by the NSE Oil and Gas Index that dropped 12.31 percent and the  Insurance Index that fell 11.44 percent, while the main board dropped 10.02 percent

The Premium Index and Banking index were the year’s gainers, following an uptick of 6.98 percent and 2.17 percent respectively, showing that market indices worsened at a slower pace than previous year.

Analysts have however argued that a successful implementation of the nation’s 2017 budget could turn the fortunes of the capital market for the better, especially for investment portfolios that align with the Federal Government’s Capital Expenditure plans.

“The NSE’s ability to continue to provide a credible platform for financing the economy as well as the achievement of key objectives formerly outlined at the start of the 2016 year, including the demutualisation of the Exchange, will further boost investor confidence.”