Weekly Market Update April 6 2018
The month of April kicked off on a negative note, as the equities market closed down on three (3) out of four (4) trading days of the week. Consequently, the NSEASI declined by 1.60%, dragging the Year to Date (YtD) return lower to 6.79% at the close of trades this week. The market breadth settled at 0.40x, as there were twenty-one (21) gainers against fifty-three (53) losers.
Outperforming the bourse this week was LASACO, advancing by 21.21% to close at NGN0.40. JAPAULOIL was the worst performing stock this week, as the counter shed 23.73% of its value to close at NGN0.45.
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria held its first (1st) meeting of the year on the 3rd and 4th of April 2018. After careful consideration of global and domestic developments, the Committee resolved to maintain status quo.
Following a brief session of gain in the previous week, the sell-offs noted across most sectors dragged the market’s performance to the negative region at the close of this week’s trading. Also, the market breadth at 0.40x signaled the weakened investor appetite for stocks in the Nigerian bourse.