According to research analysts, the buying Interest observed last week is expected to persist, despite negative sentiment surrounding Airtel Africa, which led to N14 billion in losses for Investors.
However, analysts believe that Investment decisions will be Influenced by the outcome of the ongoing meeting of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) taking place today and tomorrow.
Although the Market experienced upward momentum for four out of the five Trading days, profit booking in Airtel Africa Plc (-6.0%) caused a slight decrease of 0.1% in the equities index.
Specifically, the benchmark All Share Index (ASI) declined from 52,214.62 points to 52,187.17 points, representing a 0.1% decrease.
Similarly, the market Capitalization of all listed equities fell by the same margin from N28.431 trillion to N28.417 trillion compared to the previous week.
Despite the lackluster performance of the All Share Index, an analysis of sectoral performance Indicates a bullish trend.
Except for the Oil & Gas sector, which experienced a 1.67% loss due to dividend markdown and price adjustments in Seplat Energy, all other Sectors saw positive growth.
The Insurance sector emerged as the top gainer with a 5.20% appreciation, driven by renewed buying Interest from Investors.
The banking and Consumer goods sectors also rose by 2.88% and 1.86% respectively.
However, the Industrial goods Sector remained unchanged.
Meanwhile, Trading activity declined, with a decrease in both traded volume and Value.
The traded volume saw a 15.90% decrease to 3.03 billion units, while the traded value declined by 42.49% to N17.54 billion.
Looking ahead to the new week, analysts at Cowry Asset Management expect the current trend of buying interests in Value Stocks and profit-taking to continue.
They anticipate that dividend payments by Companies will support liquidity levels in the Market, and core Investors will rebalance their portfolios ahead of markdown dates, the MPC meeting, and the expectations of the Q1 GDP report.
Investors are also expected to focus on the outcome of the MPC meeting to gain clarity on the movement of yields in the Fixed-Income Market.
Consequently, cautious Trading is expected from domestic Investors in the short term.
