The Nigerian equities market kicked off the new month on a positive note, as the All-Share Index rose by 23bps to close at 106,042.11 points. Today’s uptrend was largely driven by renewed interest in key consumer and industrial stocks including MTNN (+2.00%), Presco (+9.55%), NB (+6.98%), IntBrew (+8.40%), NAHCO (+10.00%), Fidelity (+2.01%), Beta Glass (+9.96%), FCMB (+3.24%), and Cadbury (+10.00%).
On the flip side, Wema Bank (-11.92%) was marked down today for a ₦1.00 dividend. Broader selloffs were also seen in ETI (-9.72%), Vitafoam (-9.94%), Mansard (-8.78%), UCAP (-6.41%), DangSugar (-4.76%), AccessCorp (-2.67%), GTCO (-2.14%), Zenith Bank (-0.63%), UBA (-0.57%), First Holdco (-0.20%),Eterna (-9.91%), and Transcorp (-1.62%).
Market turnover was decent at ₦15.2 billion ($9.5 million), supported by strong flows in GTCO, MTNN, UBA, AccessCorp, and Zenith Bank, as well as a notable off-market cross of 270k units of Seplat valued at approximately ₦1.4 billion. Year-to-date, the ASI is up +3.03%. Looking ahead to next week, we anticipate cautious trading as investors reassess positioning in light of earnings season and shifting sentiment across key large-cap names.