The Nation Newspaper

Tag: profit-taking

  • Equities lose N122b amid profit-taking

    After two consecutive positive trading sessions, Nigerian equities yesterday witnessed a new round of profit-taking as investors sought to lock in gains recorded in the past trading sessions.

    Benchmark indices at the Nigerian stock market showed average decline of 1.07 per cent, equivalent to net capital loss of N122 billion. With this, average year-to-date return dropped to -19.41 per cent.

    The All Share Index (ASI)-the value-based index that tracks share prices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), declined from its opening index of 31,151.68 points to close at 30,819.10 points. Aggregate market value of all quoted equities also dropped from its opening value of N11.373 trillion to close at N11.251 trillion.

    The negative overall market position was driven largely by losses recorded by large-cap stocks in the manufacturing and banking sectors. The NSE Industrial Goods Index led with a drop of 1.6 per cent. The NSE Banking Index followed with a loss of 0.8 per cent while the NSE Consumer Goods Index dipped by 0.3 per cent. Meanwhile, the NSE Oil & Gas Index rose by 0.5 per cent while the NSE Insurance Index appreciated by 0.2 per cent.

    There were 22 losers to 17 gainers. Dangote Cement-NSE’s most capitalised stock, and Nestle Nigeria- NSE’s highest-priced stock, led the losers with a drop of N5 each to close at N185 and N1,480 respectively. Okomu Oil Palm followed with a loss of N3.50 to close at N72. Guinness Nigeria declined by N1 to close at N73. Unilever Nigeria lost 60 kobo to close at N38.90. Stanbic IBTC Holdings depreciated by 50 kobo to close at N47. Zenith Bank dropped by 35 kobo to close at N23.50. Guaranty Trust Bank dipped by 30 kobo to close at N35 while Access Bank lost 20 kobo to close at N7.30 per share.

    On the positive side, UAC of Nigeria (UACN) led with a gain of 50 kobo to close at N10. UACN in its tradition of seamless transition yesterday announced the retirement of its Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr Abdul Bello and the appointment of Executive Director, Corporate Services, Mrs Omolara Elemide, as acting Group Chief Executive Officer, with effect from January 1, 2019. Cement Company of Northern Nigeria followed with a gain of 25 kobo to close at N16.50. Oando rose by 20 kobo to close at N5.15. Cutix and Custodian Investment added 15 kobo each to close at N1.97 and N5.10 while Champion Breweries chalked up 14 kobo to close at N1.59 per share.

    The momentum of activities improved with turnover volume and value rising by 41.4 per cent and 7.8 per cent to 280.9 million shares valued at N2.5 billion. FBN Holdings was the most active stock with 92.48 million shares worth N707.26 million. Diamond Bank followed with 68.22 million shares worth N59.52 million while Ikeja Hotel placed third with 34.42 million shares valued at N58.52 million.

    “The losses today (Thursday) have led to attractive entry prices for investors to take advantage of. Thus, we expect bargain hunting in bellwethers will help drive positive performance in (Friday) tomorrow’s session,” Afrinvest Securities stated.

    “Our outlook for equities in the near-to-medium term remains conservative, in the absence of a near term positive catalyst and amidst brewing political concerns,” Cordros Capital stated.

     

  • Equities lose N462b amidst profit-taking

    Nigerian equities came under intense profit-taking pressure last week as investors turned round to monetise capital gains that had accrued in three consecutive weeks of strong rally. As most investors opened up sell orders to attract deals in the buyer’s market, most transactions at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) were closed at a discount.

    Benchmark indices at the Exchange indicated a week-on-week decline of 2.93 per cent, equivalent to net capital loss of N462 billion for the five-day trading week. With a modest recovery of 0.56 per cent at the last trading session, the average year-to-date return moderated to 14.46 per cent.

    Aggregate market value of all quoted equities closed weekend at N15.692 trillion as against its week’s opening value of N16.154 trillion, representing a loss of N462 billion. The All Share Index (ASI)-the main index that doubles as Nigeria’s sovereign equities index, also declined from its week’s opening index of 45,092.83 points to close the week at 43,773.76 points.

    Most sectoral indices also closed negative, underlining the widespread profit-taking trend that dominated transactions across the sectors. The NSE 30 Index, which tracks the 30 most capitalised stocks, dropped by 2.94 per cent. The NSE Banking Index recorded the highest depreciation of 6.40 per cent. The NSE Insurance Index declined by 3.33 per cent while the NSE Industrial Goods Index slipped by 2.03 per cent. However, consumer goods and oil and gas stocks played the contrarian stocks during the week. The NSE Consumer Goods Index appreciated by 2.15 per cent while the NSE Oil and Gas Index inched up by 0.08 per cent.

    Low-priced stocks that had been at the top of the bullish in the previous weeks were expectedly atop the profit-taking trend last week. Diamond Bank recorded the highest loss of 26.05 per cent to close at N2.64. Champion Breweries followed with a drop of 20.69 per cent to close at N2.53. Transnational Corporation of Nigeria dropped by 18.0 per cent to close at N2.05. Sterling Bank lost 16.59 per cent to close at N1.91. Honeywell Flour Mill dropped by 15.5 per cent to close at N2.67. NPF Microfinance Bank declined by 13.45 per cent to close at N1.48 while FCMB Group depreciated by 12.3 per cent to close at N3.06 per share.

    On the upside, Wapic Insurance led the contrarian stocks with a gain of 10.9 per cent to close at 61 kobo. Dangote Sugar Refinery followed with a gain of 9.8 per cent to close at N21.96. Nascon Allied Industries appreciated by 9.63 per cent to close at N20.83. Trans-Nationwide Express rose by 8.0 per cent to close at 81 kobo. P Z Cussons Nigeria posted a gain of 6.8 per to close at N23.50 while Nigerian Breweries appreciated by 6.7 per cent to close at N151.75 per share.

    Altogether, there were 30 gainers against 44 losers last week compared with 40 gainers and 32 losers recorded in the previous week. A total of 98 equities remained unchanged last week, lower than 100 equities recorded in the previous week.

    Total turnover stood at 7.16 billion shares worth N42.55 billion in 39,037 deals last week compared with 5.01 billion shares valued at N45.82 billion traded in 44,569 deals in the previous week. The conglomerates sector led the activity chart with 4.11 billion shares valued at N10.02 billion in 2,454 deals; representing 57.4 per cent and 23.5 per cent of the total equity turnover volume and value respectively. The financial services sector followed with 2.76 billion shares worth N25.40 billion in 25,853 deals. The consumer goods sector ranked third with 156.22 million shares worth N5.30 billion in 5,875 deals.

    The three most active stocks were Transnational Corporation of Nigeria, FCMB Group and Skye Bank, which altogether accounted for 4.79 billion shares worth N11.34 billion in 5,216 deals, contributing 66.9 per cent and 26.7 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

    Also traded during the week were a total of 153,755 units of Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) valued at N1.88 million in 11 deals, compared with a total of 1.947 million units valued at N105.57 million traded in 15 deals in the previous week.

    At the sovereign bond market, a total of 6,715 units of Federal Government bonds valued at N5.32 million were traded in 15 deals compared with a total of 4,437 units valued at N4.26 million traded in nine deals two weeks ago.

    “We anticipate further sell-offs as investors continue to book profits in stocks that had rallied,” Afrinvest Securities stated.

    Analysts at Afrinvest Securities noted that the ASI’s 14-Day Relative Strength Index (RSI) of 67.7 points is close to the overbought region of 70.

    Nigerian equities came under intense profit-taking pressure last week as investors turned round to monetise capital gains that had accrued in three consecutive weeks of strong rally. As most investors opened up sell orders to attract deals in the buyer’s market, most transactions at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) were closed at a discount.

    Benchmark indices at the Exchange indicated a week-on-week decline of 2.93 per cent, equivalent to net capital loss of N462 billion for the five-day trading week.

  • Profit-taking drags equities to N225b loss

    Profit-taking drags equities to N225b loss

    Nigerian equities reopened yesterday with a tinge of bearishness as profit-taking transactions on many large-cap stocks dragged the overall market position to a net loss of N225 billion.

    The two main value-based indices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) closed on the negative, underlining that the decline was due to price depreciation.  The All Share Index (ASI) dropped by 1.64 per cent to close at 37,889.57 points. The market capitalisation of all quoted equities declined by N225 billion to close at N13.484 trillion.

    The downtrend was due to widespread profit-taking transactions, especially losses recorded by large-cap stocks such as Dangote Cement, Nigerian Breweries, Okomu Oil, Presco and PZ Cussons Nigeria.

    There were nearly two losers for every gainer with 14 gainers and 24 losers. Cadbury Nigeria recorded the highest gain, in percentage terms, with 9.91 per cent to close at N15.75 per share. 11, formerly Mobil Oil Nigeria, gained 4.89 per cent to close at N178.31. Fidelity Bank appreciated by 4.62 per cent to close at N2.49 per share. Law Union and Rocks Insurance went up by 4.23 per cent to close at 74 kobo while NEM Insurance appreciated by four per cent to close at N1.56 per share.

    On the negative side, Okomu Oil led the losers’ chart by five per cent to close at N67.69 per share. Omoluwabi Micro Finance Bank shed 4.88 per cent to close at 78 kobo. Presco depreciated by 4.86 per cent to close at N68.50 per share. MC Nichols dropped by 4.76 per cent to close at N1.20 while Nigerian Breweries declined by 4.26 per cent to close at N134.04 per share.

    The momentum of activities however improved as total volume traded appreciated by 103.9 per cent to 425.96 million shares worth N2.12 billion in 2,937 deals. Transactions in the shares of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria topped the activity chart with 107.1 million shares valued at N154.77 million. Fidelity Bank followed with 94 million shares worth N220.75 million while Skye Bank traded 51.65 million shares valued at N25.82 million.

    Analysts at Afrinvest Securities Limited said they remained optimistic on the outlook for equities.

    “Given the significant rise in oil prices in recent times and the broadly bullish outlook for commodity prices for 2018, we maintain our positive short- to medium-term perspective for equities,” Afrinvest Securities stated.

  • Equities lose N310b to profit-taking

    Nigerian equities ended their four-day consecutive rally yesterday as investors turned round to monetise recent capital gains. The scramble to close sell transactions turned the stock market into a buyer’s market, forcing most transactions to close at lower prices.

    With nearly three losers to every gainer, benchmark indices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed a net capital loss of N310 billion within the five-hour trading session, representing average day-on-day decline of 2.6 per cent.

    Aggregate market value of all quoted equities dropped from its opening value of N11.887 trillion to close at N11.577 trillion. The All Share Index (ASI)-the main value-based index also declined from its opening index of 34,375.60 points to close at 33,477.89 points.

    Highly capitalised stocks headlined the downtrend. Nestle Nigeria-the highest-priced stock at the Exchange, led the losers with a loss of N10 to close at N900. Dangote Cement, the most capitalised quoted company, followed with a loss of N8.97 to close at N205. Seven-Up Bottling Company dropped by N2.99 to close at N90.01. Lafarge Africa declined by N2.20 to close at N52 while Nigerian Breweries, the second most capitalised company, lost N2 to close at N166 per share.

    There were 37 losers against 13 gainers. Conoil recorded the highest gain of N1.92 to close at N40.42. CAP followed with a gain of 79 kobo to close at N34.99. Cement Company of Northern Nigeria added 53 kobo to close at N11.27. UAC of Nigeria rose by 35 kobo to close at N17.90 while Nascon Allied Industries chalked up 20 kobo to close at N10 per share.

    Zenith Bank was the most active stock with a turnover of 87.03 million shares worth N1.86 billion. Fidelity Bank followed with 55.4 million shares worth N71.5 million while Zenith Bank placed third with 50.3 million shares valued at N1.8 billion.

  • Equities in marginal loss as profit-taking resurfaces

    Equities in marginal loss as profit-taking resurfaces

    Nigerian equities snapped a two-day rally yesterday as investors turned round to take profits on stocks that had led the recent rally. Underlying market sentiments remained largely negative at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) with nearly two losers for every gainer.

    Aggregate market value of all quoted equities on the NSE dropped marginally from its opening value of N9.629 trillion to close at N9.627 trillion, representing net capital loss of N2 billion. The All Share Index (ASI), the value-based benchmark index for the stock market, also declined marginally by 0.03 per cent to close at 28,027.23 points as against its opening index of 28,034.32 points.

    Group and sectoral indices showed mixed performance across the sectors. The NSE Industrial Goods Index declined by 0.9 per cent. The NSE Consumer Goods Index lost 0.6 per cent. However, the NSE Oil & Gas Index rose by 1.5 per cent. The NSE Banking Index appreciated by 0.7 per cent while the NSE Insurance Index inched up by 0.2 per cent.

    With 20 losers to 13 gainers, the market performance was driven by the preponderance of losers to gainers as well as losses suffered by highly capitalised stocks, especially in the industrial goods and fast moving consumer goods sectors.

    Nestle Nigeria, the highest-priced stock at the stock market, led the losers with a loss of N19.43 to close at N805.57. Lafarge Africa followed with a loss of N1.28 to close at N46.81. Presco dropped by N1.25 to close at N40.25. Flour Mills of Nigeria declined by 65 kobo to close at N20.05. UACN Property Development Company lost 37 kobo to close at N3.58. E-Tranzact dipped by 28 kobo to N5.41 while Dangote Sugar Refinery lost 18 kobo to close at N6.32 per share.

    The market also showed a slowdown in the momentum of activities. Turnover fell below average with the exchange of 155.58 million shares valued at N1.43 billion in 3,277 deals. Guaranty Trust Bank was the most active stock with a turnover of 28.09 million shares valued at N672.8 million. United Bank for Africa followed with a turnover of 28.04 million shares valued at N119.8 million while Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) placed third with a turnover of 14.75 million shares worth N14.98 million.

    On the positive side, Seplat Petroleum Development Company led the gainers with a gain of N18.37 to close at N385.88. Guinness Nigeria followed with a gain of N3.74 to close at N79.74. Total Nigeria rose by N2.50 to close at N289.50. Guaranty Trust Bank added 15 kobo to close at N24 while United Bank for Africa chalked up 13 kobo to close at N4.31 per share.

    “We expect the market to remain soft, as shown by persistent weak breadth and trading volumes, for the remainder of the week in the absence of more earnings releases,” analysts at Afrinvest Securities stated in post-trading review.

  • Profit-taking pushes equities to N51b loss

    After three consecutive positive trading sessions, Nigerian equities suffered a relapse yesterday as investors sought to take profit on many highly capitalised stocks that had driven the recent rallies.

    While the underlying sentiments remained positive with more gainers than losers, losses suffered by the highly capitalised stocks coloured the overall market position. The two main common indices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) indicated average decline of 0.58 per cent, equivalent to a loss of N51 billion after the close of trading.

    The All Share Index (ASI)-the common index that tracks prices of all quoted equities, declined from its opening index of 25,865.50 points to close at 25,715.42 points, representing a day-on-day decline of 0.58 per cent.

    Aggregate market capitalization of all quoted equities dropped from N8.897 trillion to close at N8.846 trillion, indicating a loss of N51 billion. Expectedly, the losses by the highly capitalised stocks also weighed on the sectoral indices. The NSE Banking Index dropped by 1.0 per cent. The NSE Oil & Gas Index also declined by 0.6 per cent while the NSE Industrial Goods Index and NSE Insurance Index slipped by 0.1 per cent each. However, the NSE Consumer Goods Index rose by 0.2 per cent.

    There were 26 gainers to 19 losers. Analysts at FSDH Securities, Cowry Asset Management and Afrinvest Securities agreed that the negative overall market position was due to profit-taking on the leading stocks. The major losers included Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, which dropped by 5.2 per cent; Forte Oil, which dropped by 1.8 per cent; Dangote Cement, which lost 1.5 per cent; PZ Cussons Nigeria, which declined by 5.0 per cent and Fidson Healthcare, which lost 4.9 per cent..

    Total turnover was above recent average with the exchange of 330.56 million shares valued at N2.26 billion in 4,053 deals. Banking stocks continued to dominate activities chart. The three most active stocks were FBN Holdings, with 117 million shares; United Bank for Africa, 33.19 million shares and Fidelity Bank, with 32.83 billion shares.

    “Today’s performance was broadly driven by profit taking which may be sustained tomorrow in the absence of any market moving news flow, however we expect a positive close for the week,” Afrinvest Securities stated.

     

  • Nigerian, global stocks fall on profit-taking

    Nigerian equities turned negative yesterday as investors sought to take profits on highly capitalised stocks that had driven sustained rally in recent trading sessions.

    The main index at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the All Share Index (ASI) depreciated by 59.79 points or 0.46 per cent to close at 38 957.47 points as against its opening index of 39 138.98 points.

    Also, total market capitalisation of all quoted equities dropped by N59 billion or 0.46 per cent to close at N12.832 trillion from the N12.891 trillion recorded as opening value.

    The depreciation was largely due to losses recorded in the share prices of some highly capitalised stocks such as Dangote Cement, SEPLAT Petroleum Development Company, Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp), FBN Holdings and Guinness Nigeria Plc among others.

    The financial services sector remained the toast of investors as FBN Holding emerged the most traded equity with 54.41 million shares valued at N729.361 million. Zenith Bank placed second with 29.16 million shares worth N683.69 million while UBA accounted for 27.69 million shares valued N203.81 million.

    Meanwhile, United States’ stocks fell a second day, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average sinking the most in a month, as investors continued to sell small-cap shares and Wal-Mart Stores forecast profit that missed estimates.

    The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 0.9 per cent to 1,870.94. The Dow average declined 165.94 points, or 1 per cent, to 16,448.03, its biggest drop since April 10. The Russell 2000 Index of small companies sank 0.7 per cent, trimming an earlier slide of 1.9 percent.

    “The primary sentiment right now is cautious and nervous,” Michael James, a Los Angeles-based managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities Inc, said in a phone interview with Bloomberg. “It’s more a matter of capital preservation than it is trying to generate returns. This is a time of caution. More people are looking to make sales and raise cash than they are to put cash to work on the weakness.”

    The S&P 500 has dropped 1.4 per cent since closing at an all-time high of 1,897.45 on May 13. The gauge advanced as much as 4.5 per cent from a low on April 11 amid optimism about the economy and Federal Reserve stimulus.

    The Russell 2000 has lost 3.3 per cent in the past three days following a 2.4 percent rally on May 12. The gauge briefly fell 10 per cent below a March high today. A close at that level would meet the common definition of a correction.

    The Dow Jones Internet Index lost 0.6 percent for a third day of declines. The gauge has plunged 18 percent from a 13-year high in March.

    Economic data yesterday showed industrial production in the U.S. unexpectedly declined in April, held back by a plunge in utilities as temperatures warmed and a broad-based decrease in manufacturing. Manufacturing, which makes up 75 per cent of total production, decreased 0.4 per cent.

    That contrasted with a higher-than-forecast reading on the Fed Bank of New York’s gauge of regional manufacturing, which climbed to 19.01 this month, from 1.29 in April.

    Labor Department data showed the fewest Americans in seven years filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, while a separate report indicated the cost of living in the U.S. rose in April by the most in almost a year.

    “There’s not really any great news here,” Randy Bateman, who oversees $3.5 billion as chief investment officer of Huntington Asset Advisors in Columbus, Ohio, said by phone. “It’s just a slower growing period. Unless we see something that will really drive investor enthusiasm, it’ll be a trading-range market.”

    Fed Chair Janet Yellen said last week that the world’s biggest economy still requires a strong dose of stimulus. While data show “solid growth” in the second quarter, “many Americans who want a job are still unemployed” and inflation remains low, she said. Yellen will address the U.S. Chamber of Commerce after the market closes today.

    Three rounds of monetary stimulus have helped fuel economic growth, sending the S&P 500 surging as much as 180 percent from its 2009 low.

    David Tepper, founder of $20 billion hedge-fund firm Appaloosa Management LP, said he’s nervous about markets as the U.S. economy isn’t growing fast enough amid complacency by the Federal Reserve.

    “The market is kind of dangerous in a way,” Tepper said yesterday at the SkyBridge Alternatives Conference in Las Vegas. “I think it’s nervous time,” he said, adding that markets may “grind higher” in the near term.

    Tepper, 56, who started his Short Hills, New Jersey-based firm in 1993, said he’s more worried about deflation than inflation and that this is the time to preserve money.

  • Stock market primed for profit-taking,say experts

    The stock market may witness pronounced profit-taking transactions in the days ahead as investors seek to cash in on substantial capital gains. The profit-taking transactions may lead to price correction, an inference to possible decline in market benchmark indices.

    The market opened this week with average year-to-date return of 28.25 per cent but several equities carry three-digit returns.

    Analysts in latest reviews of the market outlook said several market-determining equities garnered substantial capital gains to entice speculative investors to sell their holdings.

    They, however, remained optimistic about the medium to long-term outlook of the market with most pundits projecting continued rally through the second half.

    Managing Director, Financial Derivatives Company (FDC) Limited, Mr Bismarck Rewane, said the market outlook suggests stock market correction and may begin with profit-taking transactions.

    According to him, while portfolio investors remain long in the equity market, bargain-hunting retail investors have induced price volatility, which may further become pronounced as investors monetise recent capital gains.

    Analysts at FSDH Merchant Bank also indicated possibility of price correction, citing the prices in the market.

    Rewane said expected price correction may however, provide entry opportunity for portfolio investors as the market medium to long-term outlook remains strong.

    “Our forecast for the market to hit the 38,000 points by end of the year remains intact provided there are no exogenous risks,” Rewane said.

    He said large-cap stocks would continue to be market drivers as investors prefer the safety offered by the easily predictable sectoral leaders to the extreme volatility of penny and mi-cap stocks.

    He noted that though there had been echoes of possibility of an asset bubble, the Nigerian equity market still has substantial intrinsic values, pointing out that average dividend yield of selected listed companies in Nigeria is still higher than frontier market peers at 4.1 per cent.

    According to him, the first quarter results released so showed that banks and building materials, which have domineering influence on the market, would continue to outperform expectations.

    He noted that though consumer goods sector may struggle with flat sales and tough operating environment, future earnings power of the companies remain strong.