Financial stocks lift NSE’s volume by 88.9 per cent

THE financial services industry dominated in volume terms on the trading floor of the Nigerian Stock exchange last week, contributing 88.98per cent  to total equity volume.

 

Specifically, at the close of transactions last week, the financial service industry led the activity chart with 1.252 billion shares valued at N7.169 billion traded in 8,451 deals; thus contributing 88.98per cent  and 41.49per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

   

The oil and gas Industry followed with 50.714 million shares worth N5.338 billion in  1,520 deals.

   

The consumer goods industry ranked third  with a turnover of 37.534 million shares worth N3.117 billion in 2,473 deals,

 

Trading in the top three equities namely – Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, FCMB Group Plc and Wema Bank

Plc.(measured by volume) accounted for 667.292 million shares worth N4.256 billion in 2,114 deals,

contributing 47.44per cent and 24.63per cent  to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

 

Consequently, a turnover of 1.407 billion shares worth N17.277 billion in  were recorded in 14,914 deals by investors on the Exchange last week, in contrast to a total of 5.087 billion shares valued at N18.488 billion that

changed hands in 16,711 deals during the preceding week.

   

Also traded during the week were a total of 115,641 units of Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) valued at

N1.285 million executed in 28 deals, compared with a total of 34,089 units valued at N604,908.34 transacted last week in 34 deals.

 

A total of 39,340 units of both State (1) and Federal Government Bonds (2) valued at N44.246 million were traded in three  deals, compared with a total of 4,190 units valued at N4.884 million transacted last week in five deals.

 

The NSE All-Share index and market capitalisation appreciated by 5.05per cent  to close the week at 24,689.69

and N8.491 trillion respectively.

   

Similarly, all other Indices finished higher during the week, with the exception of the NSE Banking Index,

NSE Insurance Index and the NSE Consumer Goods Index that depreciated by 1.14per cent, 1.28per cent  and 0.15per cent respectively, while the NSE ASeM index closed flat.

 

26 equities appreciated in price during the week, lower than 30 equities of the previous week. 30 equities depreciated in price, lower than 40  equities of the previous week, while 134 equities remained unchanged, higher than 120 equities recorded in the previous week.

Source: Guardian Newspaper.

Global shares climb as firmer Chinese yuan eases deflation fears

World stocks rose sharply on Monday as China's central bank fixed the yuan at a much stronger rate and oil cemented recent gains, easing fears of global deflation.

The rally belied a string of poor economic data from Beijing and Tokyo as demand for safe-haven assets waned, yet investors remained on edge due to lingering concerns about growth and the health of the financial sector.

European stocks rose 3 percent .FTEU3, having shed nearly 10 percent over the last fortnight, mirroring a bounce in Asia. Futures pointed to notional gains of 1.6 percent on Wall Street ESc1 but U.S. markets will be closed for a holiday.

Meanwhile, assets that tend to perform well in times of stress lagged. The Japanese yen lost ground against the U.S. dollar, top-rated German bond yields edged away from nine-month lows and gold slipped 2 percent after its strongest week in four years.

"We had a very strong statement from the Chinese authorities signaling they are committed to a stable currency and that's helped sentiment ... safe-haven flows have unwound somewhat," said RIA Capital Markets strategist Nick Stamenkovic.

In China, spot yuan jumped more than 1 percent to 6.4934 per dollar - its firmest this year - after the People's Bank of China set its daily midpoint 0.3 percent stronger and the head of the bank was quoted as saying speculators should not be allowed to dominate market sentiment. [CNY/]

A stronger yuan reduces the risk that China will export deflation to the world, while worries about consumer price growth have also been helped by bounce back in the oil price.

Brent LCOc1 and U.S. crude futures CLc1 edged up on Monday adding to Friday's 10 percent surge on speculation that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) might finally agree to cut output to reduce a world glut.

Euro zone long-term inflation expectations also rebounded from record lows on Monday even as Germany's Bundesbank cut its forecast for consumer price growth in the bloc's biggest economy.

DISCONNECT

China's weak exports and imports in January, down 11.2 percent and 18.8 percent year-on-year respectively, seemed not to disturb markets. The resulting jump in the country's trade surplus to $63 billion for the month might have helped, as that may offer support to the yuan.

The disconnect between markets and economics was perhaps starkest in Japan, where the Nikkei .N225 jumped more than 7 percent, putting its worst week since the depths of the global financial crisis in 2008 quickly behind it.

This came despite data showing the economy contracted by an annualized 1.4 percent in the last three months of 2015, more than expected.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 2.3 percent .MIAPJ0000PUS, after losing 10 percent of its value so far this year.

European shares followed in their wake, led by a 4 percent rebound in banking stocks .SX7P on news that the European Central Bank (ECB) is in talks to buy bundles of Italian bad bank loans as part of its asset-purchase program.

Yet some strategists cautioned that Monday's rebound may prove short-lived, with concern that central banks have little ammunition left to fight off the heady mix of an oil-induced deflationary forces, capital outflows and economic weakness in China, and pressure on the world's financial sector.

"It's possible we could see calmer markets this week but we are not out of the woods yet," Thomas Harr. global head of fixed income and currency research at Danske Bank in Copenhagen.

"For the last couple of weeks we have seen a bit of central bank fatigue – they have cut rates into negative but it isn't having much of an impact."

Against a basket of currencies .DXY, the dollar was up slightly at 96.433 having been at its lowest in almost four months. Likewise, it edged up to 113.99 yen JPY=, having touched a 15-month trough just under 111.00 last week.

The euro was last down 0.6 percent at $1.1184 EUR=, having slipped from a 3-1/2 month peak of $1.1377.

Source: www.reuters.com