Trading in the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) today reflected a marginal improvement in stocks’ value as the All Share Index (NGXASI) consolidates further despite new listings, marginally gaining 0.01% to close today’s trade on 97,639.88 points.
The data from the Nigerian Exchange Group on the trading session showed that the volume and value of traded stocks declined by 17.75% and 24.52% respectively, indicating a possible pointer to intensified risk averse sentiments, although newly listed HMCALL continues to record gains with the HMCALL, UBA, and FBNH topping the volume and value charts at today’s close.
According to the data, the PE ratios across the industrial goods sector reflected that investors bullish run on WAPCO continued, gaining 9.95% to close at NGN57.85 at the end of Tuesday’s trading.
The major price gainers include HMCALL (9.98%), PRESTIGE (9.64%), while the losers comprised TANTALIZERS (-9.30%), UBA (-1.55%), MTNN (-1.16%), among others.
Analysts at Bancorp Securities Limited noted that the market’s indices reflected the impact of today’s 25-basis-point hike in the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) to 27.50%, prompting investors to reassess their positions.
They observed that the Banking sector suffered the most, declining by 0.21%, as sell-offs in UBA, ACCESSCORP, and FIDELITYBK highlighted concerns over higher funding costs and tighter margins.
On the other hand, the investment experts noted that the Insurance sector continued its impressive rally, gaining 0.91% due to strong demand for SUNUASSUR and PRESTIGE, while the Industrial index rose by 0.76%, driven by WAPCO, and the Oil and Gas and Consumer Goods indices recorded modest gains of 0.36% and 0.09%, respectively.
The analysts maintained that today’s increase in the MPR clearly added a layer of caution to the market, especially for rate-sensitive sectors, adding that investors will likely see this impact unfold more vividly in the coming days.
