Bulls resurface on NGX as banks commit to swift alignment with CBN guidelines

…YtD return rises to +14.51%

Investor confidence in Nigeria’s equities market increased further on Thursday as banks, especially those affected by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recent directive publicly commit to swiftly align with regulatory guidelines.

The market rose further by 0.92 percent at the close of trading on Thursday, as investors bargain-hunt across sectors. After negative start to this week’s trading, a two-day rally has pushed the market higher this year (Year-to-Date) by 14.51 percent.

The NGX Banking Index rose most by 2.99 percent, followed by NGX Insurance Index which increased by 1.53 percent, and the NGX Consumer Goods Index which was also up by 1.02 percent. The NGX Industrial Index rose by 0.16 percent while NGX Oil & Gas Index moved up by 0.24 percent at the close of trading on Thursday.

Read also: Analysts in bullish bias as equities market opens week in green

The Nigerian Exchange Limited All Share Index (ASI) and equities market capitalisation increased further from preceding trading day’s lows of 116,786.87 points and N73.681 trillion respectively to 117,861.13 points and
N74.358 trillion.

A look at the market’s major advancers on Thursday shows that Ikeja Hotel rose from N14 to N15.40, adding N1.40 or 10 percent. Beta Glass moved from N250.95 to N276, adding N25.05 or 9.98 percent.

Also, Legend Internet increased from N6.55 to N7.20, adding 65 kobo or 9.92 percent, University Press increased from N5.48 to N6.02, adding 54 kobo or 9.85 percent while Eterna moved up from N38.70 to N42.50, adding N3.80 or 9.82 percent.

“We expect the market to maintain its bullish momentum in tomorrow’s (Friday) session, supported by sustained investor interest in the banking sector, particularly in names previously flagged for non-compliance with regulatory thresholds.

“With these banks publicly committing to swift alignment with regulatory guidelines, investor sentiment remains positive, and accumulation in the space is likely to persist,” said analysts at Vetiva Research in their post-trading note to investors.

Champion Breweries, GTCO, PZ Cussons, Zenith Bank and Access Holdings stocks were mostly traded on Thursday as investors in 17,257 deals exchanged 893,965,052 shares worth N22.029 billion.