Nigeria Content Online

The
capital market has remained on a positive note with increase in
investors’ activities a week after the Asset Management Corporation of
Nigeria (AMCON) bill was signed into law.

At
the close of trading session on Monday, the two main parameters for
measuring market performance at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE)
-market capitalisation and All-Share Index-inched up by 1.02 per cent
to close at N6.243 trillion and 25,527.44 basis points, from N6.179
trillion and 25,269.36 recorded last Friday. The NSE has recorded about
N186 billion gains since the recent rebound.

Analysts
at Proshare Nigeria Limited said the positive performance recorded so
far cut across all the sectors on the bourse, “but could be attributed
mainly to good performance recorded in the banking and some other blue
chips stocks.” They said as market outlook remains positive, the trend
in some sectors showed indications of profit taking by investors as
sell pressures seem to be gaining momentum. “This may be sending
signals that profit taking activities may be more prominent in the
coming days.”

Banking sector retains lead

The
banking sector led the market transaction volume on Monday with 255.402
million units valued at N2.182 billion exchanged in 3,611 deals.
Transactions in the shares of United Bank of Africa, Zenith Bank,
Platinum Bank, and First Bank Nigeria boosted the volume traded in the
sector.

The
total volume of 136.138 million units valued at N1.370 billion traded
in the shares of the four banks accounted for 53.30 per cent of the
entire sector volume and their value represented 62.79 per cent of the
sector’s value. The number of gainers at the close of trading session
closed at 35 compared with the 40 gainers recorded on the previous
trading day, while losers closed at 29 as against the 22 recorded in
the preceding trading day.

Upturn
remained dominant in the banking stocks as transactions in the sector
closed with 15 gainers to three losers compared with the 17 gainers to
two losers recorded last Friday. Analysts say investors’ interest in
the sector continues to grow stronger by the day. The upbeat trend
influence in the breweries sector remained relatively as the only price
change recorded was on the positive note, a reverse of the previous
day’s trend. Performance of stocks in the conglomerate sector at the
close of trading session reflected stronger sell pressures as
transactions closed in the sector with two losers compared with one
gainer to a loser recorded on Friday.

The
number of gainers in the Food/Beverages sector declined to one compared
with five gainers recorded on Friday while the number of losers closed
at one, a repeat of the previous day’s losers figures. Proshare
analysts say stocks in the sector also present “buy opportunities for
discerning investors.”

Market outlook

Commenting
on the economy outlook for the second-half of the year, Biodun Adedipe,
chief executive officer of Biodun Adedipe & Associates Limited, a
business consultancy firm, said, “A combination of the need for
continued stimulation of the economy and the political activities in
2010 towards general elections of 2011 will create liquidity surfeit.”
Mr. Adedipe, said the recent banking reforms, though necessary at the
time they were introduced “have not been well managed to achieve the
intended results.” He, however, said that the central bank, in the
second-half of the year, will want to be careful about liquidity
management and may not run a restrictive monetary policy.