Nigerian stocks add N364.4 billion as strong corporate earnings boost sentiment

Nigerian stocks advanced 1.35 per cent or N364.4 billion Tuesday in a rally marking one of biggest daily movements of the benchmark index as the pull of broadly strong half-year corporate performance drew investors to equity.

The main equity index hit its lowest level in roughly three months on 28th July but a good number of the half-year financials of big and mid-cap companies turned positive with some declaring dividends, triggering the sentiment needed to drive gains.

Sector titans MTN Nigeria and Nestle set the climb in motion, with further boost from Tier 1 lenders Zenith and GTCO.

“We expect the market to see a rebound as bargain hunting activities resume due to the low valuations in the market at the moment,” said analysts at investment bank United Capital.

“That said, we advise investors to continue to exercise caution as we expect to see more volatility in the medium to long term as long as interest rates remain high.”

A positive market breadth was reported, showing 19 gainers against 9 laggards at the end of trade.

The all-share index increased 675.7 points to 50,626 points, while market capitalisation closed higher at N27.3 trillion.

The index has seen a 18.5 per cent gain in January to date. Premiumtimesng