NSE Sustains Two Trading Session Of Positive Sentiment On Improving Inflows As MFI Looks Up

Market Update for March 4,

At midweek, stocks rallied higher on the Nigerian Stock Exchange on sustained buying interest as market players take advantage of low prices to position for dividend and capital gains ahead of markdown dates for some companies that had declared cash dividends earlier. These positive sentiments pushed the composite index higher on above-average traded volume.

In today’s market, stocks are yielding more than fixed income instruments. This sharp divergence in yields should be the attraction in the equity segment of the financial market considering the prevailing low-interest regime and rising inflation rate. The government suspending its earlier plan to borrow N2 trillion from the pension fund and continued OMO maturities that washed the system with excess liquidity as institutional investors continued to trade with caution. But with the money flow index looking up in the last two trading days, indicating that funds are gradually returning to the stock market.

Despite, the reduce momentum in today’s gain, one may safely conclude that traders are already gaining confidence against the effect of coronavirus. As global markets are already on a recovery mood just as China where the virus commenced, their capital market and economy are recovering, more so, with the news that, the vaccine had already been discovered in Israel to cure the strange virus. Here in Nigeria, the government had consistently assumed to be ready to combat the spread of the diseases.

Meanwhile, Wednesday’s trading opened in green and oscillated in the mid-morning till afternoon on the accumulation of dividend stocks and buying of undervalued equities that had suffered losses over the years and recently for capital appreciation, which pushed the benchmark index above intraday high of 26,438.78 basis points, from its low of 26,256.24bps. Thereafter, closing the session higher at 26,415.54bps on a positive market breadth.

Midweek market technicals were positive and mixed, with volume traded lower than the previous session in the midst of breadth favoring the bulls and positive sentiment as revealed by Investdata’s Sentiment Report showing 83% ‘buy’ volume and 17% sell position. The total transaction volume index stood at 1.07, as the energy behind the day’s performance remained seriously weak, but Money Flow Index moved up to read 15.40points, from the previous day 8.84points, an indication that funds entered the market again, despite the prevailing low liquidity in equity segment.

Index and Market Caps

All Share index at the end of the day’s trading gained 160.43bps, closing at 26,415.54bps from its 26,255.11bps opening, representing a 0.61% growth, just as market capitalization was up by N83.60 billion to close at N13.76 trillion, from the N13.68 trillion opening level, which also represented a 0.61% appreciation in value.

Attention: If you have not signed up for Investdata buy and sell signal setup, don’t delay. We have just added another risk management feature and new stocks of most revered traders and investors in corporate Nigeria to our watchlist. These stocks are with double potentials.

To become a member, send ‘YES’ or ‘STOCKS’ to the phone numbers below. Take advantage of this service to buy right and sell right at the current market recovery ahead of full-year earnings reporting season portfolio reshuffling and repositioning as we await an economic reform policy to stimulate and re-track the economy again.

The day advancers were driven by position taking in low, medium and high cap stocks like BUA Cement, Guaranty Trust Bank, Access Bank, UBA, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, FBNH, NB, and Fidelity Bank. This expectedly impacted positively on the NSE, as the Year-To-Date loss reduces to 1.59%, while market capitalization YTD gain rise to N806.41 billion, representing 6.19% growth over the year’s opening value.

Bullish Sector Indices

All the sectorial performance indexes were bullish, except for the NSE Oil/Gas that closed lower by 0.68%, while the NSE Insurance index led the advancers, after gaining 2.77%, followed by the NSE Banking and Consumer Goods with 1.7% and 0.82% respectively, just as NSE Industrial goods index was up by 0.37%. .

Market breadth remained positive, with advancers outnumbering decliners in the ratio of 22:10, while market transactions in terms of volume and value traded were down by 20.69% and 44.74% as investors exchanged 307.72 million shares worth N2.81 billion from the previous day 387.9 million units valued at N5.08 billion. This volume was boosted by trades in FBNH, Zenith Bank, UBA, Guaranty Trust Bank and Trancorp.

The best-performing stocks for the day were NEM Insurance and Royal Exchange Assurance that topped table, after gaining 10% each, closing at N1.87 and N0.22 per share on market forces and low price attraction. On the flip side, Ardova and Deap Capital lost 10% and 8.33% respectively, closing at N15.30 and N0.33 each respectively on selloffs.

Market Outlook

We expect the trend to be sustained as funds may flow the way of stocks, dividend news and resist further decline as more audited earnings hit the market this March. This is despite the likely continuation of the mixed intraday movement in the midst of profit-taking, with investors increasing buying positions in high dividend-paying stocks ahead of dividend declaration. This is also against the backdrop of the fact that the capital wave in the financial market may persist in the midst of relatively low-interest rates in the money market, high inflation and unstable economic outlook for 2020.

Also, investors and traders are positioning in anticipation of the 2019 full-year earnings reports, amidst the changing sentiments in the hope of improved liquidity and positive economic indices which may reverse the current trend.

We see investors focusing on the upcoming full-year earnings season, targeting companies with strong potentials to grow their dividend on the strength of their earnings capacity.

Again, the current undervalued state of the market offers investors opportunities to position for the short, medium and long-term, which is why investors should target fundamentally sound, and dividend-paying stocks for possible capital appreciation in the New Year.

This was noted in the 10 golden stocks and trading ideas for 2020, which was discussed extensively during the Investdata 2020 Traders & Investors Summit held in Lagos.

Also, traders and investors need to change their strategies, because of the NSE’s pricing methodology, the CBN directives and their impact on the economy in the nearest future.

Meanwhile, the Investdata team welcomes you to a bullish 2020. The home study packs of our Invest 2020 Opportunities and Trade Ideas Summit, containing the 10 Golden Stocks for 2020 are available. To obtain your pack send ‘Yes’ or ‘Stock’ to 08028164085, 08032055467, 08111811223 now.


Ambrose Omordion
CRO|Investdata Consulting Ltd

https://investdata.com.ng/2020/03/nse-sustains-two-trading-session-of-positive-sentiment-on-improving-inflows-as-mfi-looks-up/#more

Investors Ignored Good Dividend Stocks In The Midst Of Economic Uncertainties


Investors Ignored Good Dividend Stocks In The Midst Of Economic Uncertainties

Market Update for the Week Ended March 6 and Outlook for March 9-13

It was a mixed trading sessions on the Nigerian Stock Exchange last week to halt the five successive weeks of bearish sentiment and selloffs due to concerns over lack of liquidity in the equity segment and impact of one case of coronavirus in Nigeria that sent fear to investors with the global markets and economics being threatened by the epidemic outbreak.

Stocks advanced within the period under consideration as buying interest was noticed in banking, insurance and oil sectors due to the fact that more companies released their 2019 full year audited results to the market with impressive numbers and dividend declarations that attracted funds to the market.

In this same week, the government announced its plans to review the 2020 budget, senate approved $22.7 billion loan request from the executive and another rating agency S&P joined its counterparts to downgrade the nation’s economy from stable outlook to negative.

We at Investdata are not against the government borrowing but the timing and economic reality are the concerns here, because cost of borrowing and source of repaying are also very important.

The recent downgrade of the Nigeria economy from stable to negative by S&P rating agency will increase the cost borrowing in the international market, at a time the price of oil which is the nation major source of revenue is crashing to sell at $51 as at Friday, below the 2020 government benchmark price of $57.

Its obvious that borrowing helps to boost economic activities and enhance the living standard of people, but in Nigeria the case is different, upon the huge yearly budgets for good five years the nation economy is still struggling and there is no direction due to implementation and disbursement style of the economic managers, policy summersault and counter policies of the same governmenIt’s

Outlining how the $22.7 billion will be spent is not the problem but Implementation is the key for it to impact positively on the economy and the people. Repayment plan is the very key thing here considering the high cost of governance today and political ideology of Nigerian politicians. We suggest that the government should suspend the borrowing of $22.7billion for now, as government review its 2020 budget to reflect the prevailing economic reality.

Stock markets across the globe last week had a volatile sessions as some suffered setbacks on impact of the coronavirus outbreak that triggered selloffs for safe havens. On the fear of the virus influence on the world economy, US monetary policy committee has again cut rate to mitigate the effect of the outbreak on its economy and boost productivity just as G7 Finance officials agreed to implement policies that will support growth at the end of their conference held during the week. This is due to the impact of the disease on oil price that is below $50 now.



Movement Of NSEASI

The composite All-Share Index opened the week on a negative note. However, it rebounded on Tuesday and it was sustained till Thursday before pulling back on Friday to shed some of its gains and close the week marginally higher.

Consequently, the benchmark index for the period recorded a gain of 0.24%, as the week opened trading at 26,216.46bps, touching an intra-week high of 26,626.07bps and low of 25,816.57bps on panic selloffs and repositioning in high cap stocks as more companies released their dividend news. The index finally closed the week at 26,279.61ps, on a higher traded volume when compared to the previous week.

Also, market capitalisation was up by N37 billion to N13.70 trillion, from an opening value of N13.43 trillion representing a 0.275 % value gain. The difference in percentage change of the index and market cap was as a result of the listing of additional shares of 10.16 billion ordinary shares of Wapic Insurance at 50 kobo and 336.86 million shares of Restar Express at N4.00 respectively. We also noted, that the share price of Nigerian Breweries was adjusted for N1.51 dividend.

Medium and small companies stocks topped the week’s advancers table, with continued sell pressure in consumer and industrial goods, while the accumulation of high dividend-paying stocks persisted among financial services providers and Oil/Gas sectors in midst of audited corporate earnings that were released in the period under review. Market players have also continued to trade cautiously in the expectation of more scorecards and dividend news.

The mixed sentiment and seemingly improved buying interest during the period was evident in the market breadth as advancers outnumbered decliners in the ratio of 36:25. The impetus behind the week’s performance was weak, as Money Flow Index reads 44.44bps, compared to the 51.43bps of the previous week.

The high volume of trade indicates the increased demand for banking and insurance stocks by traders and investors as they position in small, medium and large companies, even as Investdata’s Sentiment Report for the week was mixed with 57% ‘buy’ volume, and 43% ‘sell’ position, on a transaction volume index of 1.36.



NSEASI Weekly Time Frame



From the above weekly chart of the NSE Index, the money flow index continues to indicate that funds are leaving the market while momentum indicators vary in their directional movement, with the index resisting further decline after 100% Fibonacci correction.

It is obvious that institutional investors are contemplating to be in cash or take position in these high yields stocks as macroeconomic data remained mixed with economic reality revealing negative outlook in the face of coronavirus impact and oil price at $48. The waiting game is expected to help investors determine which window they will be considering, whether equity or fixed income especially against the ongoing assets repricing in the financial market.

The index, on a weekly time frame, is trading below its 20-Day Moving Average; the Relative Strength Index reads 38.69.



Mixed Sectoral Indices

The sectoral indexes were largely bullish for the week, except for the NSE Consumer and Industrial Goods that closed lower by 5.87% and 4.27% respectively, while the NSE Banking Index led the advancers, after gaining 3.78%, followed by the NSE Insurance and Oil/Gas indexes that were up by 1.40% and 0.80%, respectively.

Market transactions, in terms, of volume and value for the week, were up by 16.77% and 7.21% respectively, as investors exchanged 1.81 billion shares worth N26.01 billion, as against the previous week’s 1.55 billion units valued at N24.26 billion. This volume was mainly driven by trades in financial services stocks, especially Guaranty Trust Bank, Zenith Bank and UBA

UACN Property and Skyway Aviation were the best performing stocks for the week, topping the gainers chart with 22..89% and 20.66% respectively, closing at N1.02 and N2.57 per share on low price attraction and market forces. On the flip side, Unilever and Lafarge Africa lost 13.33% and 11.94% respectively, closing at N13.00 and N36 per share on selloffs and profit-taking.

Market Outlook

As we enter the Second week of March, more audited earnings reports and dividend declarations to dictate the market direction in the midst of profit-taking and repositioning by market players, as more maturing OMO and bonds mature, making more funds available for equity investment, even as we noted the fact that funds managers are holding cash.

This is just as more liquidity flows to high Dividend Yield stocks with sound fundamentals, which will also be based on the seemingly positive outlook for the domestic economy, and despite the mixed outlook for 2020 from various analysts.

While discerning investors should take advantage of the current low stocks valuation to position for the medium to long-term, it is noteworthy that the Nigerian equity market is selling at a discount and therefore offers high upside potential.

We should, however, not overlook the possibility of a bargain-hunting motive supporting positive performance, especially with many fundamentally sound stocks remaining underpriced. With a dividend yield of major blue-chips continuing to look attractive in recent weeks, we expect speculative trading to shape the market’s direction, despite the seeming mixed outlook.

Again, the current undervalued state of the market offers investors opportunities to position for the short to long-term, which is why investors should target fundamentally sound and dividend-paying stocks for possible capital appreciation in the New Year. This was noted in the 10 golden stocks and trading ideas for 2020, as discussed extensively during the Investdata 2020 Opportunities & Trade Ideas Summit.

Also, traders and investors need to change their strategies, because of the NSE’s pricing methodology, CBN directives and its impact on the economy in the nearest future.

Meanwhile, we thank all the participants of the PHC Invest 2020 Summit last weekend, as we also welcome you all to a bullish 2020. The home study packs of Invest 2020 Opportunities and Trade Ideas Summit containing the 10 Golden Stocks for 2020 are available with an average return of 13.37% in less than 30 days. To obtain your pack send ‘Yes’ or ‘Stock’ to 08028164085, 08032055467, 08111811223 now.

https://investdata.com.ng/2020/03/investors-ignored-good-dividend-stocks-in-the-midst-of-economic-uncertainties/

CORPORATE ACTIONS 2020

https://investdata.com.ng/2020/03/corporate-actions-2020/#more

InvestData Price & Earnings Tracking For The Week Ended March 6, 2020

https://investdata.com.ng/2020/03/investdata-price-earnings-tracking-for-the-week-ended-march-6-2020/#more

NGSE Records Highest Weekly Loss, As CBN Assurance Stems Further Crash

Market Update for the Week Ended March 13 and Outlook for March 16-20
It was a turbulent week on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) with equity prices suffering huge declines due to panic selling and dumping propelled by heightened fears of the Coronavirus,

impacting global economic activities, while production facilities were shut and commodity prices, especially crude oil. The significant drop in crude oil prices spiked fears over the capacity of Nigeria’s reserves to withstand the shock, resulting in speculations that weakened the Naira against major currencies. The situation was however saved by a message by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to assure all that there was no plan for Naira devaluation (READ MORE).

The global markets during the period under view hit their new lows, just as the benchmark All-Share Index of the NSE hit its 11-year low, just weeks after the market had ranked among the world’s best performing at the beginning of the year.

The pullbacks that started in the last week of January due to factors ranging from the Q4 unaudited results released without corporate actions, which failed to meet investor expectations; just as the upward adjustment in the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) by the Monetary Policy
Committee to 27.5% from 22.5%. The CBN’s move was part of measures to curtail the rising inflation driven by many factors like the continued border closure since August 2019; the rising spate of insecurity and low farm produce owing to the banditry, kidnapping and Fulani herdsmen-farmers’ clash in the North West, Boko Haram menace that kept Nigeria’s North East on lockdown, and the general level of insecurity across the country.

All these triggered outflows of funds from equity assets in the previous month which has lingered until the peak of the 2019 audited corporate earnings reporting season, reversing all the expectations amidst the persistent selloffs in the market due to fear of global pandemic now ravaging the world.

Also, last week, Nigeria’s Senate began the amendment to the Finance Act 2019, as requested by the executive arm, to reflect new economic realities, even as the price of Brent crude slumped below the 2020 budget benchmark of $57 per barrel. Also, within the period, the House of Representatives suspended
indefinitely, discussions on the Federal Government’s request to borrow $22.8bn, assuggesteded by investdata in its update analysis a fortnight ago, based on realities that global economic happenings do not support such.


Movement Of NSEASI
The rapid spread of the Coronavirus contagion has triggered a wave of selloffs with the NSEASI losing all of 13.49% in just one week, pushing many stocks to a new loss of between 52-week and 15 years. It was a free fall of stock prices for four straight trading sessions of the week, except for Friday when the index closed marginally up by 0.17%.
Consequently, the benchmark index lost 3,546.26 basis points, after the week opened trading at 26,279.61bps, touching an intra-week low of 22,550.10bps from high of 26,141.21bps on a serious panic selloff and dumping of high cap stocks, even as some companies are yet to release their 2019 full-year results. The index closed the week at 22,733.35ps, on a huge traded volume when compared to the

previous week, just as the NSE index broke down four psychological levels of 26,000, 25,000, 24,000 and 23,000 in just five trading sessions.
Also, market capitalisation was down by N1.85tr, closing at N11.85tr, from an opening value of N13.7tr, representing a 13.5 % value loss, in a week the share prices of United Capital, Africa Prudential, Infinity Mortgage Bank, Transcorp Hotel and Zenith Bank, were adjusted for dividends of 50 kobo, 70 kobo, 3.5kobo, seven kobo and N2.50 per share respectively.

The selling pressure hit all the sectors of the exchange, with just two stocks featuring on the week’s gainers’ table. The negative sentiment and selloffs during the period were obvious in the market breadth as losers outnumbered gainers in the ratio of 64:2, even as the energy behind the week’s performance was weak, while Money Flow Index read 39.65bps, compared to the 44.44bps of the previous week.
The high volume of trade indicates the increased selloff in all the sectors, by traders and investors while they sought to cut their losses and hold cash as revealed by the Investdata’s Sentiment Report for the week showing 5% ‘buy’ volume, and 95% ‘sell’ position, on a transaction volume index of 2.74

Mixed Sectoral Indices
All the sectoral indexes for the week were bearish, with the NSE Banking index leading the decliners, after shedding 26.15%, followed by NSE Consumer Goods that lost 14.79%, while he NSE Oil/Gas, Insurance and Industrial Goods, followed with 8.51%, 5.66%, and 5.41%, respectively.

Market transactions, in terms, of volume and value for the week, were up by 118.77% and 68.01% respectively, as investors exchanged 3.96bn shares worth N43.7bn, as against the previous week’s 1.81bn units valued at N26.01bn. The week’s volume was mainly driven by trades in financial services stocks, especially Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, and UBA

Consolidated Hallmark Insurance and Cornerstone Insurance were the best-performing stocks for the week, topping the advancers chart with 7.14% and 6% respectively, closing at N0.30 and N0.53 per share on market forces. On the flip side, Cadbury and Zenith Bank lost 38.89% and 36.47% respectively, closing at N4.95 and N11.90 per share on panic selling and dumping.

Market Outlook
We expect a mixed performance this week, as the market enters the second half of March, more audited earnings reports and dividend declarations, but market reaction to the epidemic this week as the virus hit more countries, dictating the market’s direction in the midst of the depressed price of fundamentally sound stocks and bargain hunting by market players. This has also resulted in significant improvement in Dividend Yields of stocks, even as we note the fact that funds
managers were holding on to cash before last week’s price meltdown.
This is just as more liquidity flows to high Dividend Yield stocks with sound fundamentals, which will also be based on the seemingly positive outlook for the domestic economy, and despite the mixed outlook for 2020 from various analysts.

While discerning investors should take advantage of the current low stocks valuation to position for the medium to long-term, it is noteworthy that the Nigerian equity market is selling at a discount and therefore offers high upside potential.

We should, however, not overlook the possibility of a bargain-hunting motive supporting positive performance, especially with many fundamentally sound stocks remaining underpriced. With a dividend yield of major blue-chips continuing to look attractive in recent weeks, we expect speculative trading to shape the market’s direction,

despite the seeming mixed outlook.
Again, the current undervalued state of the market offers investors opportunities to position for the short to long-term, which is why investors should target fundamentally sound and dividend-paying stocks for possible capital appreciation in the New Year. This was noted in the 10 golden stocks and trading ideas for 2020, as discussed extensively during the Investdata 2020 Opportunities & Trade Ideas Summit.
Also, traders and investors need to change their strategies, because of the NSE’s pricing methodology, CBN directives and its impact on the economy in the nearest future.

Meanwhile, the home study packs of Invest 2020 Opportunities and Trade Ideas Summit containing the 10 Golden Stocks for 2020 are available with an average return of 13.37% in less than 30 days. To obtain your pack send ‘Yes’ or ‘Stock’ to 08028164085, 08032055467, 08111811223 now.

Ambrose Omordion
CRO|Investdata Consulting Ltd
info@investdataonline.com
info@investdata.com.ng
ambrose.o@investdataonline.com
ambroseconsultants@yahoo.com
Tel: 08028164085, 08032055467

https://investdata.com.ng/2020/03/ngse-records-highest-weekly-loss-as-cbn-assurance-stems-further-crash/#more

Nigeria’s NSE Index Stays Red, Amidst Cocktail Of Policies To Mitigate Effects Of Covid-19

Market Update for March 16, 2020
Monday’s trading activities on the Nigerian Stock Exchange remained volatile and mixed with the benchmark All Share index closing red again, thereby halting the previous day’s marginal gain, amidst global fears as the coronavirus scourge fuels the bear market, resulting in the seeming bargain hunting across financial stocks.

The mixed sentiment during the trading session failed to lift the market as selloffs continued among high cap stocks, irrespective of news of another set of proactive measures by the Central Bank of Nigeria to cut interest rates on its intervention funds from 9% to 5% in the face of the challenging business environment (READ MORE).

Sell pressure subsided on the NSE during the Monday session, even as the Federal Government announced plans to cut the size of the 2020 budget while concentrating only on essential capital spending to the heavy crash of crude oil price (READ MORE).

Meanwhile, Monday’s trading started on the upside slightly in the morning and was sustained till midday before oscillating in the afternoon on mixed sentiment with buying interests in banking and insurance stocks. Selloffs, however, hit high cap stocks, pushing the NSE’s benchmark ASI to an intraday low of 22,618.36basis points, from its high of 22,797.39bps, before retracing up slightly. It closed at 22,705.19bps lower than it opened.

Market technicals were positive and mixed with volume traded lower than that of the previous sessions in the midst of breadth that favoured the bulls on mixed sentiments as revealed by Investdata’s Sentiment Report showing 52% ‘sell’ volume and 48% ‘buy’ position. The total transaction volume index stood at 1.44 points, just as the momentum behind the day’s performance remains weak, despite looking up as Money Flow Index reads 23.19points, from the previous day’s 16.85points. This is an indication that funds entered some stocks despite the down market, in the midst of prevailing low liquidity.

Index and Market Caps
The NSEASI, at the close of Monday day’s trading, shed a marginal 28.16bps, closing at 23,705.19bps, from its opening figure of 23,733.35bps which represented a 0.10% drop, just as market capitalization lost N15.05bn, closing at N11.83tr, from the N11.85tr opening value, which also represented 0.10% value loss.

Attention: If you have not signed up for Investdata buy and sell signal setup, don’t delay. We have just added another risk management feature and new stocks of most revered traders and investors in corporate Nigeria to our watchlist. These stocks are with double potentials to rally considering their current market prices.

To become a member, send ‘YES’ or ‘STOCKS’ to the phone numbers below. Take advantage of this service to buy right and sell right at the current market recovery ahead of full-year earnings reporting season portfolio reshuffling and repositioning as we await an economic reform policy to stimulate and re-track the economy again.
Monday’s downturn was impacted by continued selloffs in medium and high cap stocks like MTNN, FBNH, Lafarge Africa, UBA, NB, Dangote Sugar, and Fidelity Bank. This expectedly impacted mildly on the NSE, as Year-To-Date loss increased to 15.41%, while market capitalization YTD negative position stood at N1.13tr, representing an 8.67% decline over the year’s opening value.

Mixed Sector Indices
The sectorial performance indexes were largely bearish, except for NSE Insurance and Banking that closed higher by 1.51% and 0.63% respectively, while NSE Industrial Goods led the decliners, after losing 0.52%, followed by the NSE Consumer Goods with 0.16% decline, while NSE Oil/Gas was flat for the session.
Market breadth was positive as advancers outnumbered decliners in the ratio of 18:14, while market activities in terms of volume and value traded were down by 24.78% and 43.66% as investors traded 551.48m shares worth N5.76bn, from the previous day’s 724.61m units valued at N9.12bn. Volume was boosted by trades in Guaranty Trust Bank, Zenith Bank, FBNH, Access Bank and UBA.
The best-performing stocks for the session were Courtville Business Solution and Lasaco Assurance as they topped the advancers table, gaining 10% each, closing at N0.22 and N0.22 per share on market forces. On the flip side, Transcorp and Sky Aviation lost 10% and 9.73% respectively, closing at N0.63 and N2.32 respectively on sell down and profit-taking.

Market Outlook
We expect a mixed performance and slowdown on the losing momentum as February inflation data is expected to hit the market on Tuesday, low prices of stocks and high dividend yields attract buying interest, as more audited corporate earnings hit the market, going forward. This is despite the likely continuation of the mixed intraday movement in the midst of selloffs, with investors buying increasing positions in undervalued stocks ahead of dividend declaration.

This is also against the backdrop of the fact that the capital wave in the financial market may persist in the midst of relatively low-interest rates in the money market, high inflation and unstable economic outlook for 2020.

Also, investors and traders are positioning in anticipation of the 2019 full-year earnings reports, amidst the changing sentiments in the hope of improved liquidity and positive economic indices which may reverse the current trend.
We see investors focusing on the upcoming full-year earnings season, targeting companies with strong potential to grow their dividend on the strength of their earnings capacity.

Again, the current undervalue state of the market offers investors opportunities to position for the short, medium and long-term, which is why investors should target fundamentally sound, and dividend-paying stocks for possible capital appreciation in the New Year.
This was noted in the 10 golden stocks and trading ideas for 2020, as discussed extensively during the Investdata 2020 Traders & Investors Summit held in Lagos.

Also, traders and investors need to change their strategies, because of Worsen

https://investdata.com.ng/2020/03/nigerias-nse-index-stays-red-amidst-cocktail-of-policies-to-mitigate-effects-of-covid-19/#more

Investdata Daily Sentiment Report as of 18th March 2020

NSEASI buy 9% sell 91% volume index 1.67 MFI 28.14
Access buy � volume index 6.27 MFI 51.35
Afrprud buy � MFI 11.57
Aiico buy � MFI 52.24
Caverton buy � MFI 54.05
Chams buy � MFI 27.92
Courtville buy 0% MFI 18.97
Fbnh buy 80% sell 20% volume index 2.46 MFI 28.09
Fcmb buy � MFI 45.44
Fidelity buy � MFI 56.02
GT buy 50% sell 50% volume index 1.85 MFI 53.08
Jaiz buy � volume index 1.10 MFI 22.46
Jberger buy 0% volume index 3.03 MFI 97.46
Mtnn buy � MFI 13.85
Nahco buy � volume index 1.54 MFI 25.82
Nascon buy 0% volume index 4.87 MFI 0.00
Nem buy � volume index 1.46 MFI 23.82
Oando buy 11% sell 89% volume index 2.53 MFI 46.51
Prestige buy � volume index 2.47 MFI 46.28
Stanbic buy 79% sell 21% volume index 5.96 MFI 40.04
Transcorp buy � volume index 1.12 MFI 38.89
Transcorp buy � volume index 1.12 MFI 38.89
Uba buy 43% sell 57% MFI 34.05
Ubn buy 0% MFI 26.06
Ucap buy � MFI 39.65
Wapco buy � volume index 2.21 MFI 15.17
Wapic buy 0% volume index 2.23 MFI 5.49
Wema buy � MFI 44.17
Zenith buy 69% sell 31% volume index 2.09 MFI 41.33

https://investdataltd..com/2020/03/investdata-daily-sentiment-report-as-of_19.html

Nigeria’s NSE Index Stays Red, Amidst Cocktail Of Policies To Mitigate Effects Of Covid-19

Market Update for March 16, 2020

Monday’s trading activities on the Nigerian Stock Exchange remained volatile and mixed with the benchmark All Share index closing red again, thereby halting the previous day’s marginal gain, amidst global fears as the coronavirus scourge fuels the bear market, resulting in the seeming bargain hunting across financial stocks.

The mixed sentiment during the trading session failed to lift the market as selloffs continued among high cap stocks, irrespective of news of another set of proactive measures by the Central Bank of Nigeria to cut interest rates on its intervention funds from 9% to 5% in the face of the challenging business environment (READ MORE).

Sell pressure subsided on the NSE during the Monday session, even as the Federal Government announced plans to cut the size of the 2020 budget while concentrating only on essential capital spending to the heavy crash of crude oil price (READ MORE).

Meanwhile, Monday’s trading started on the upside slightly in the morning and was sustained till midday before oscillating in the afternoon on mixed sentiment with buying interests in banking and insurance stocks. Selloffs, however, hit high cap stocks, pushing the NSE’s benchmark ASI to an intraday low of 22,618.36basis points, from its high of 22,797.39bps, before retracing up slightly. It closed at 22,705.19bps lower than it opened.

Market technicals were positive and mixed with volume traded lower than that of the previous sessions in the midst of breadth that favoured the bulls on mixed sentiments as revealed by Investdata’s Sentiment Report showing 52% ‘sell’ volume and 48% ‘buy’ position. The total transaction volume index stood at 1.44 points, just as the momentum behind the day’s performance remains weak, despite looking up as Money Flow Index reads 23.19points, from the previous day’s 16.85points. This is an indication that funds entered some stocks despite the down market, in the midst of prevailing low liquidity.

Index and Market Caps
The NSEASI, at the close of Monday day’s trading, shed a marginal 28.16bps, closing at 23,705.19bps, from its opening figure of 23,733.35bps which represented a 0.10% drop, just as market capitalization lost N15.05bn, closing at N11.83tr, from the N11.85tr opening value, which also represented 0.10% value loss.

Attention: If you have not signed up for Investdata buy and sell signal setup, don’t delay. We have just added another risk management feature and new stocks of most revered traders and investors in corporate Nigeria to our watchlist. These stocks are with double potentials to rally considering their current market prices.

To become a member, send ‘YES’ or ‘STOCKS’ to the phone numbers below. Take advantage of this service to buy right and sell right at the current market recovery ahead of full-year earnings reporting season portfolio reshuffling and repositioning as we await an economic reform policy to stimulate and re-track the economy again.

Monday’s downturn was impacted by continued selloffs in medium and high cap stocks like MTNN, FBNH, Lafarge Africa, UBA, NB, Dangote Sugar, and Fidelity Bank. This expectedly impacted mildly on the NSE, as Year-To-Date loss increased to 15.41%, while market capitalization YTD negative position stood at N1.13tr, representing an 8.67% decline over the year’s opening value.

Mixed Sector Indices
The sectorial performance indexes were largely bearish, except for NSE Insurance and Banking that closed higher by 1.51% and 0.63% respectively, while NSE Industrial Goods led the decliners, after losing 0.52%, followed by the NSE Consumer Goods with 0.16% decline, while NSE Oil/Gas was flat for the session.

Market breadth was positive as advancers outnumbered decliners in the ratio of 18:14, while market activities in terms of volume and value traded were down by 24.78% and 43.66% as investors traded 551.48m shares worth N5.76bn, from the previous day’s 724.61m units valued at N9.12bn. Volume was boosted by trades in Guaranty Trust Bank, Zenith Bank, FBNH, Access Bank and UBA.

The best-performing stocks for the session were Courtville Business Solution and Lasaco Assurance as they topped the advancers table, gaining 10% each, closing at N0.22 and N0.22 per share on market forces. On the flip side, Transcorp and Sky Aviation lost 10% and 9.73% respectively, closing at N0.63 and N2.32 respectively on sell down and profit-taking.

Market Outlook
We expect a mixed performance and slowdown on the losing momentum as February inflation data is expected to hit the market on Tuesday, low prices of stocks and high dividend yields attract buying interest, as more audited corporate earnings hit the market, going forward. This is despite the likely continuation of the mixed intraday movement in the midst of selloffs, with investors buying increasing positions in undervalued stocks ahead of dividend declaration.

This is also against the backdrop of the fact that the capital wave in the financial market may persist in the midst of relatively low-interest rates in the money market, high inflation and unstable economic outlook for 2020.

Also, investors and traders are positioning in anticipation of the 2019 full-year earnings reports, amidst the changing sentiments in the hope of improved liquidity and positive economic indices which may reverse the current trend.

We see investors focusing on the upcoming full-year earnings season, targeting companies with strong potential to grow their dividend on the strength of their earnings capacity.

Again, the current undervalue state of the market offers investors opportunities to position for the short, medium and long-term, which is why investors should target fundamentally sound, and dividend-paying stocks for possible capital appreciation in the New Year.

This was noted in the 10 golden stocks and trading ideas for 2020, as discussed extensively during the Investdata 2020 Traders & Investors Summit held in Lagos.

Also, traders and investors need to change their strategies, because of Worsen

https://investdata.com.ng/2020/03/nigerias-nse-index-stays-red-amidst-cocktail-of-policies-to-mitigate-effects-of-covid-19/#more

Investdata Daily Sentiment Report as of March 19, 2020

NSEASI buy 9% sell 91% volume index 1.67 MFI 28.14
Access buy � volume index 6.27 MFI 51.35
Afrprud buy � MFI 11.57
Aiico buy � MFI 52.24
Caverton buy � MFI 54.05
Chams buy � MFI 27.92
Courtville buy 0% MFI 18.97
Fbnh buy 80% sell 20% volume index 2.46 MFI 28.09
Fcmb buy � MFI 45.44
Fidelity buy � MFI 56.02
GT buy 50% sell 50% volume index 1.85 MFI 53.08
Jaiz buy � volume index 1.10 MFI 22.46
Jberger buy 0% volume index 3.03 MFI 97.46
Mtnn buy � MFI 13.85
Nahco buy � volume index 1.54 MFI 25.82
Nascon buy 0% volume index 4.87 MFI 0.00
Nem buy � volume index 1.46 MFI 23.82
Oando buy 11% sell 89% volume index 2.53 MFI 46.51
Prestige buy � volume index 2.47 MFI 46.28
Stanbic buy 79% sell 21% volume index 5.96 MFI 40.04
Transcorp buy � volume index 1.12 MFI 38.89
Transcorp buy � volume index 1.12 MFI 38.89
Uba buy 43% sell 57% MFI 34.05
Ubn buy 0% MFI 26.06
Ucap buy � MFI 39.65
Wapco buy � volume index 2.21 MFI 15.17
Wapic buy 0% volume index 2.23 MFI 5.49
Wema buy � MFI 44.17
Zenith buy 69% sell 31% volume index 2.09 MFI 41.33

https://investdataltd..com/2020/03/investdata-daily-sentiment-report-as-of_55.html

Expect Mixed Performance, Slowdown In Loss Momentum, As Investors Review Economic Data Impact
- March 19, 2020



Market Update for March 17
Nigeria’s stock market again moved lower for the second consecutive session on Tuesday, after a failed attempt to retrace up as revealed by the trading pattern and mixed sentiments, before pulling back on high selloffs in medium and large-cap companies like Dangote Cement, Chemical Allied Products and NASCON Allied. This pushed the Nigerian Stock Exchange All Share Index to yet another lower low, despite the improved buying interest among market players on mixed economic data on a day the National Bureau of Statistics released the country’s February Consumer Price Index showing that inflation climbed higher to 12.20% from 12.13% in January.

As we observed on Monday and Tuesday, the panic selling in the market has slowed down even as the economic managers put measures in place to mitigate the negative impact of the Coronavirus (Covid-19).
We recall that in the case of the global financial crisis, the NSE index started strains of panic in March 2008, after touching an all-time high of 66,000 points on March 5. The market didn’t start feeling it until between late 2008 and early 2009 when the decision of the then Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, when he began stress-testing the nation’s banking industry, resulting in the sacking of eight bank managing directors. This threw the banking industry and the economy into a full-blown crisis that depressing the stock market, from which the stock market finally bottomed out in 2011/2012.

The current Coronavirus-driven bear market and economic downturn that started two months ago have seriously impacted the global and local stock market setting off a panic over the last four-to-five days, pushing prices of crude oil to its recent lows. The bargain hunting in the last two trading sessions was driven by low price attraction and dividend news expectation, amidst more notification of board meetings ahead of the March 31, deadline for filling of 2019 financial year accounts.
Tuesday’s trading opened in the green and fluctuated in the midday to the afternoon on a mixed trading pattern that pushed the NSE composite index to an intraday low of 22,497.57 basis points, from its high of 23,008.57bps. Thereafter, it rebounded marginally before closing the session lower at 22,543.07bps on high traded volume.

Index and Market Caps
The benchmark NSEASI, at the end of the day’s trading, lost 162.12bps or 0.71%, closing at 22,543.07ps, from its opening figure of 22,705.19bps, just as market capitalization shed N84.49bn, closing at N11.75tr, from the N11.83tr opening value which also represented 0.71% depreciation in investors’ portfolios.
Attention: If you have not signed up for Investdata buy and sell signal setup, don’t delay. We have just added another risk management feature and new stocks of most revered traders and investors in corporate Nigeria to our watchlist. These stocks are with double potentials to rally considering their current market prices.

To become a member, send ‘YES’ or ‘STOCKS’ to the phone numbers below. Take advantage of this service to buy right and sell right at the current market recovery ahead of full-year earnings reporting season portfolio reshuffling and repositioning as we await an economic reform policy to stimulate and re-track the economy again.
The market’s decline was driven by selloffs in medium and high cap stocks like Dangote Cement, CAP, Ardova (formerly Forte Oil), NACON Allied, International Breweries, Champion and Lafarge Africa. This expectedly impacted mildly on the NSE, as Year-To-Date loss increased to 16.32%, while market capitalization YTD negative position stood at N1.89tr, representing a 9.83% decline over the year’s opening value.

Mixed Sector Indices
The sectorial performance indexes were largely bearish, except for the NSE Banking and Insurance that closed 5.59% and 0.85% higher respectively, while NSE Industrial Goods led the decliners, after losing 2.16%, followed by the NSE Oil/Gas and Consumer Goods, which lost 0.61% and 0.04% respectively.
Market breadth remained positive as advancers outnumbered decliners in the ratio of 27:12, while market transactions in terms of volume and value traded were up by 22.56% and 39.93% as investors traded 675.91m shares worth N8.6bn, from the previous day’s 551.48m units valued at N5.76bn. Volume was boosted by trades in Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, FBNH, Access Bank and UBA.

Access Bank and Lafarge Africa were the best-performing stocks of the day that topped the advancers table, gaining 10% each, closing at N6.05 and N11.00 per share on market forces and expectation of earnings report. On the flip side, Dangote Cement and NASCON lost 10% each, closing at N139.70 and N8.55 respectively on sell down and profit-taking.

Market Outlook
We expect a mixed performance and slowdown on the losing momentum as investors and traders review the impact of the cocktail of economic data vis-à-vis the February inflation report released on Tuesday, as low stock prices and high dividend yields continue to attract buying interests, while more audited corporate earnings hit the market going forward. This is despite the likely continuation of the mixed intraday movement in the midst of selloffs, with investors buying increased positions in undervalued stocks ahead of dividend declaration. This is also against the backdrop of the fact that the capital wave in the financial market may persist in the midst of relatively low-interest rates in the money market, high inflation and unstable economic outlook for 2020.

Also, investors and traders are positioning in anticipation of the 2019 full-year earnings reports, amidst the changing sentiments in the hope of improved liquidity and positive economic indices which may reverse the current trend.
We see investors focusing on the upcoming full-year earnings season, targeting companies with strong potential to grow their dividend on the strength of their earnings capacity.
Again, the current undervalue state of the market offers investors opportunities to position for the short, medium and long-term, which is why investors should target fundamentally sound, and dividend-paying stocks for possible capital appreciation in the New Year.

This was noted in the 10 golden stocks and trading ideas for 2020, as discussed extensively during the Investdata 2020 Traders & Investors Summit held in Lagos.
Also, traders and investors need to change their strategies, because of the NSE’s pricing methodology, the CBN directives and their impact on the economy in the nearest future...

Expect Mixed Performance, Slowdown In Loss Momentum, As Investors Review Economic Data Impact
- March 19, 2020



Market Update for March 17
Nigeria’s stock market again moved lower for the second consecutive session on Tuesday, after a failed attempt to retrace up as revealed by the trading pattern and mixed sentiments, before pulling back on high selloffs in medium and large-cap companies like Dangote Cement, Chemical Allied Products and NASCON Allied. This pushed the Nigerian Stock Exchange All Share Index to yet another lower low, despite the improved buying interest among market players on mixed economic data on a day the National Bureau of Statistics released the country’s February Consumer Price Index showing that inflation climbed higher to 12.20% from 12.13% in January.

As we observed on Monday and Tuesday, the panic selling in the market has slowed down even as the economic managers put measures in place to mitigate the negative impact of the Coronavirus (Covid-19).
We recall that in the case of the global financial crisis, the NSE index started strains of panic in March 2008, after touching an all-time high of 66,000 points on March 5. The market didn’t start feeling it until between late 2008 and early 2009 when the decision of the then Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, when he began stress-testing the nation’s banking industry, resulting in the sacking of eight bank managing directors. This threw the banking industry and the economy into a full-blown crisis that depressing the stock market, from which the stock market finally bottomed out in 2011/2012.

The current Coronavirus-driven bear market and economic downturn that started two months ago have seriously impacted the global and local stock market setting off a panic over the last four-to-five days, pushing prices of crude oil to its recent lows. The bargain hunting in the last two trading sessions was driven by low price attraction and dividend news expectation, amidst more notification of board meetings ahead of the March 31, deadline for filling of 2019 financial year accounts.
Tuesday’s trading opened in the green and fluctuated in the midday to the afternoon on a mixed trading pattern that pushed the NSE composite index to an intraday low of 22,497.57 basis points, from its high of 23,008.57bps. Thereafter, it rebounded marginally before closing the session lower at 22,543.07bps on high traded volume.

Index and Market Caps
The benchmark NSEASI, at the end of the day’s trading, lost 162.12bps or 0.71%, closing at 22,543.07ps, from its opening figure of 22,705.19bps, just as market capitalization shed N84.49bn, closing at N11.75tr, from the N11.83tr opening value which also represented 0.71% depreciation in investors’ portfolios.
Attention: If you have not signed up for Investdata buy and sell signal setup, don’t delay. We have just added another risk management feature and new stocks of most revered traders and investors in corporate Nigeria to our watchlist. These stocks are with double potentials to rally considering their current market prices.

To become a member, send ‘YES’ or ‘STOCKS’ to the phone numbers below. Take advantage of this service to buy right and sell right at the current market recovery ahead of full-year earnings reporting season portfolio reshuffling and repositioning as we await an economic reform policy to stimulate and re-track the economy again.
The market’s decline was driven by selloffs in medium and high cap stocks like Dangote Cement, CAP, Ardova (formerly Forte Oil), NACON Allied, International Breweries, Champion and Lafarge Africa. This expectedly impacted mildly on the NSE, as Year-To-Date loss increased to 16.32%, while market capitalization YTD negative position stood at N1.89tr, representing a 9.83% decline over the year’s opening value.

Mixed Sector Indices
The sectorial performance indexes were largely bearish, except for the NSE Banking and Insurance that closed 5.59% and 0.85% higher respectively, while NSE Industrial Goods led the decliners, after losing 2.16%, followed by the NSE Oil/Gas and Consumer Goods, which lost 0.61% and 0.04% respectively.
Market breadth remained positive as advancers outnumbered decliners in the ratio of 27:12, while market transactions in terms of volume and value traded were up by 22.56% and 39.93% as investors traded 675.91m shares worth N8.6bn, from the previous day’s 551.48m units valued at N5.76bn. Volume was boosted by trades in Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, FBNH, Access Bank and UBA.

Access Bank and Lafarge Africa were the best-performing stocks of the day that topped the advancers table, gaining 10% each, closing at N6.05 and N11.00 per share on market forces and expectation of earnings report. On the flip side, Dangote Cement and NASCON lost 10% each, closing at N139.70 and N8.55 respectively on sell down and profit-taking.

Market Outlook
We expect a mixed performance and slowdown on the losing momentum as investors and traders review the impact of the cocktail of economic data vis-à-vis the February inflation report released on Tuesday, as low stock prices and high dividend yields continue to attract buying interests, while more audited corporate earnings hit the market going forward. This is despite the likely continuation of the mixed intraday movement in the midst of selloffs, with investors buying increased positions in undervalued stocks ahead of dividend declaration. This is also against the backdrop of the fact that the capital wave in the financial market may persist in the midst of relatively low-interest rates in the money market, high inflation and unstable economic outlook for 2020.

Also, investors and traders are positioning in anticipation of the 2019 full-year earnings reports, amidst the changing sentiments in the hope of improved liquidity and positive economic indices which may reverse the current trend.
We see investors focusing on the upcoming full-year earnings season, targeting companies with strong potential to grow their dividend on the strength of their earnings capacity.
Again, the current undervalue state of the market offers investors opportunities to position for the short, medium and long-term, which is why investors should target fundamentally sound, and dividend-paying stocks for possible capital appreciation in the New Year.

Investdata Daily Sentiment Report as of 20 March, 2020

NSEASI buy 0% volume index 1.25 MFI 21.57
Access buy 57% sell 43% MFI 65.69
Afrprud buy � MFI 21.86
Aiico buy 50% sell 50% volume index 1.59 MFI 46.04
Dangsugar buy � volume index 1.24 MFI 36.15
Eti buy � MFI 62.60
Fbnh buy 25% sell 75% volume index 0.73 MFI 26.98
Fcmb buy � volume index 2.70 MFI 46.61
Fidelity buy 56% sell 44% volume index 2.60 MFI 56.12
Fmn buy � volume index 1.09 MFI 34.51
GT buy 79% sell 21% volume index 1.26 MFI 52.09
Jaiz buy � volume index 0.86 MFI 32.25
Lasaco buy 50% sell 50% volume index 0.91 MFI 30.64
Mansard buy � volume index 1.11 MFI 45.67
Oando buy 24% sell 76% MFI 53.92
Sterling buy � volume index 0.79 MFI 43.99
Transcorp buy 0% volume index 1.10 MFI 35.40
Uacn buy � volume index 0.73 MFI 66.44
Uba buy 0% MFI 33.40
Ucap buy 0% MFI 42.29
Unity buy � volume index 4.82 MFI 23.31
Wapic buy 0% volume index 11.83 MFI 3.04
Wema buy � volume index 2.13 MFI 43.91
Zenith buy 0% volume index 1.35 MFI 42.28

https://investdataltd..com/2020/03/investdata-daily-sentiment-report-as-of_20.html?m=1

Nigeria’s Equity Market Lost N3.2tr Since Black Monday, Onyema, NSE CEO

Senat Capital Market Committee Pledges Support, Laws For Market Devt
Chief Executive of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Oscar Onyema, on Thursday lamented that the bourse has lost all of N3.2tr from March 9, 2020, which he referred to as black Monday, when market capitalization fell by N329.387bn from N13.694tr on Friday to N13.365tr, while the benchmark All-Share index lost 632.07 basis points or 2.41%.
Onyema, who was reacting to a challenge by Senator Ibikunle Amosun, that the capitalization should hit the N15tr mark before the next visit of the Senate Committee on Capital Market to the bourse.
Amosun, chairman of the committee, who led members on a working visit to the exchange, had before striking the gong to close the day’s trading, was told that before that Monday, the market was rising towards N15tr.
Before striking the gong, Amosun, former Ogun State governor, noted that the NSE must play a significant role in the process of diversifying the nation’s economy, calling attention to sectors that would enhance greater participation of Nigerians in the economy.
Specifically, he said the real sector more be energized to do more for the people, even as “the MSMEs (Micro, Medium and Small-scale Enterprises) should be those feeding the conglomerates.”
He promised that the committee and the National Assembly as a whole will help the capital market by creating the enabling environment for its to thrive by making laws and revising existing ones. Such laws in need of a revisiting in support of the NSE and the capital market, he continued, include the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB); and the Companies & Allied Matters Act (CAMA), among others.
The NASS, Amosun continued, will also look into how to make the nation’s pension assets play deeper into the market, even as he commended the level of improvement in the workings of the stock exchange and the room for improvement.
Fielding questions from journalists later, the committee chairman said despite the decline in market indices, it is time for the capital market to buckle up and prepare to absorb future shocks.
“We need to think outside of the box” to get the market out of murky waters, even as he expressed optimism that the situation would not last forever.
While commending stakeholders for their efforts so far, he stressed that it is for times like this that Nigeria needs to diversify, with the collapse in oil price.
“Now is the time to encourage other sectors for participatory development.
Addressing council members of the NSE during an interactive session earlier, Amosun commended efforts by the bourse to create a truly sustainable exchange hub for wealth creation and capital formation in Africa.
“We have met a very professionally run Exchange during this visit and we encourage you to keep up the good work. The Nigerian Stock Exchange has been a critical player in the development of the Nigerian economy. Your efforts have culminated in moving Nigeria out of a monolithic phase and we thank you for all the good work. On behalf of the Senate Committee, I assure you that we will continue to create that enabling environment that will support you in growing our market and providing Nigerians innovative opportunities to create wealth,” he stressed.
Despite the current gloom, Onyema expressed a positive outlook for the Nigerian economy, assuring the visitors of the NSE’s commitment to national development.
“Nigeria remains an attractive investment destination as Africa’s most populous country, positioned to be a top 20 economy by 2030 and top 10 by 2050. The Exchange is, therefore, committed to engaging stakeholders to set the Nigerian economy on a positive trajectory. To successfully do this, we will continue to advocate for the right economic policies that will ensure that both issuers and investors in our market can reap real value.”

Photo caption: Sen. Amah Micheal Nnachi, Member, Senate Committee on Capital Market; Sen. Kashim Shettima, Member, Senate Committee on Capital Market; Ms. Mary Uduk. Acting Director-General, Securities and Exchange Commission; Mr. Oscar N. Onyema, OON, Chief Executive Officer, The Nigerian Stock Exchange; H.E. Sen. Ibikunle Amosun, CON, Chairman, Senate Committee on Capital Market; Sen Yaroe Binos Dauda, Member, Senate Committee on Capital Market; and Sen. Yakubu Oseni, Member, Senate Committee on Capital Market during the Senate Committee on Capital Market’s courtesy visit to The Exchange on Thursday, March 19, 2020

https://investdata.com.ng/2020/03/nigerias-equity-market-lost-n3-2tr-since-black-monday-onyemia-nse-ceo/#more

Mixed Trading Ahead, As Investors Review Likely Impacts Economic Measures, Juicy Dividend Yields

Market Update for March 19
The trading volatility and negative sentiments on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE)on Thursday reversed the attempted recovery, amidst diminishing selloffs in the previous sessions. The equity market turmoil has also resulted in a glut, as fearful investors and players rush to sell so as to stockpile cash that would carry them through these troubled economic times whose terminal date remains unknown. Intelligent and discerning investors are, however, taking advantage of the depressed stock prices to position in value companies with high and juicy margins of safety.

The selloffs on Thursday hit highly capitalized stocks, particularly in banking, telecommunication, consumer and industrial goods sectors on a day four new cases of the coronavirus decease was recorded in Lagos, propelling further panic selling even at the peak of earnings season. The plunge was despite the seeming rebound in crude oil prices in the international market.

The continued decline in the stock market indicators, despite the N1.1tr stimulus promised by the Central Bank of Nigeria for key economic sectors such as manufacturing, for import substitution, a situation that could be signaling that investors and consumers alike are apprehensive still, notwithstanding, the Federal Government’s palliative measures aimed at mitigating effects of the pandemic. Recall that besides the CBN’s offer (READ MORE), the government has adjusted Nigeria’s 2020 budget downward by N1.5tr, while crude oil benchmark has been reduced to $30 per barrel, which in itself is a confirmation that the year may be tough for the economy. The dwindling investor and consumer confidence is equally reflected in the fact that the market failed to take note of the N20 cut in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol to N125 per litre, even as we note that most fuel stations around cities are yet to adjust their pumps to the new price.

Thursday’strading opened on the downside and was sustained throughout the day on strong negative sentiments, in addition to the price adjustment of some stocks for dividends. This pushed the NSE’s composite All-Share index to an intraday low of 22,018.58 basis points, from its high of 22,785.19bps, before retracing up slightly to close the session lower at 22,078.58bps on a high traded volume.

Market technicals for the day were negative and mixed, as volume traded was lower than previous day’s amidst of breadth favoring the bears and high selling pressure, as revealed by Investdata’s Daily Sentiment Report, showing ‘sell’ volume of 100%, on a total daily transaction volume index of 1.25. The momentum behind the day’s performance was seriously weak, with Money Flow Index marginally down to 21.57 points, from the previous session’s 21.66bps, an indication that funds left some stocks and the market. The current stock prices and Price/Earnings ratio of the market continue to reveal the presence of robust intrinsic value for medium and long-term investment considerations.

Index and Market Caps
At the end of Thursday’s trading, the NSEASI closed lost another 711.06bps, closing at 22,078.58ps, from its opening figure of 22,789.64bps, representing a 3.12% decline, just as market capitalization fell by N370.55bn, closing at N11.51tr, from the N11.88tr opening value which also represented 3.12% value loss.

Attention: If you have not signed up for Investdata buy and sell signal setup, don’t delay. We have just added another risk management feature and new stocks of most revered traders and investors in corporate Nigeria to our watchlist. These stocks are with double potentials to rally considering their current market prices.
To become a member, send ‘YES’ or ‘STOCKS’ to the phone numbers below. Take advantage of this service to buy right and sell right at the current market recovery ahead of full-year earnings reporting season portfolio reshuffling and repositioning as we await an economic reform policy to stimulate and re-track the economy again.

Thursday’s downturn was driven by selloffs in high cap stocks like Dangote Cement, MTNNigeria, Nestle Nigeria, Guaranty Trust Bank, Zenith Bank, UBA, Lafarge Africa, Access Bank, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, United Capital and Fidelity Bank. This impacted negatively on the NSE Year-To-Date loss as it increased to 17.75%, while market capitalization YTD negative position up at N1.45tr, representing an 11.21% decline over the year’s opening value.

Bearish Sector Indices
The sectorial performance indexes were down, except for the NSE Insurance that closed 1.08% up, while the NSE Banking led the decliners, shedding 7.75%, followed by the NSE Industrial and Consumer Goods index, which lost 1.45% and 0.96% respectively, while NSE Oil/Gas was flat for the session.
Market breadth turned negative as decliners outweighed advancers in the ratio of 22:13, while market activity in terms of volume and value traded fell by 21.7% and 55.16% as investors exchanged 525.85m shares worth N4.74bn, from the previous day’s 671.52munits valued at N10.56bn. The day’s volume was driven by trades in Zenith Bank, Wapic Insurance, Guaranty Trust Bank, FBNH and UBA.

Africa Prudential and Jaiz Bank were the best-performing stocks for the day, gaining 9.91% and 9.76% respectively to close at N3.55 and N0.45 per share on low price attraction and dividend expectation. On the flip side, United Capital and Zenith Bank lost 10% each, closing at N2.34 and N12.15 respectively on profit-taking.

Market Outlook
We expect a mixed performance on low price attraction with investors and traders review the impact of economic measures of the government and its economic managers, even as high dividend yields continue to attract buying interests for investors that want to make 100% returns in 24 months. This is possible if you stick to good stocks by ordering a review of the 10 golden stocks, while more audited corporate earnings hit the market going forward.
This is despite the likely continuation of the mixed intraday movement in the midst of selloffs, with investors buying increased positions in undervalued stocks ahead of dividend declaration. This is also against the backdrop of the fact that the capital wave in the financial market may persist in the midst of relatively low-interest rates in the money market, high inflation and unstable economic outlook for 2020.

Also, investors and traders are positioning in anticipation of the 2019 full-year earnings reports, amidst the changing sentiments in the hope of improved liquidity and positive economic indices which may reverse the current trend.
We see investors focusing on the upcoming full-year earnings season, targeting companies with strong potential to grow their dividend on the strength of their earnings capacity.
Again, the current undervalue state of the market offers investors opportunities to position for the short, medium and long-term, which is why investors should target fundamentally sound, and dividend-paying stocks for possible capital appreciation in the New Year.
This was noted in the 10 golden stocks and trading ideas for 2020, as discussed extensively during the Investdata 2020 Traders & Investors Summit held in Lagos.

Also, traders and investors need to change their strategies, because of the NSE’s pricing methodology, the CBN directives and their impact on the economy in the nearest future.
Meanwhile, the home study packs of our Invest 2020 Opportunities and Trade Ideas Summit, containing the 10 Golden Stocks for 2020 are available. To obtain your pack send ‘Yes’ or ‘Stock’ to 08028164085, 08032055467, 08111811223 now.

Ambrose Omordionm
CRO|Investdata Consulting Ltd
info@investdataonline.com
info@investdata.com.ng
amberose.o@investdataonline.com
ambroseconsultants@yahoo.com
Tel: 08028164085, 08032055467

Mixed Session Still On NGSE, As Investors Grapple With Realities Of Remote Trading

Market Update for March 26
Volatility and mixed trading continued Thursday on the Nigerian Stock Exchange as the benchmark index closed marginally higher, halting the previous session’s loss on low volume traded that reflected the level of indecision among traders. There is also the effects of the remote trading, following the closure of the trading floor as a safety measure in the wake of the ravaging Coronavirus pandemic that has made governments shut down non-essential services across the globe. Many stockbroking firms and their clients, especially those that have not perfected the act of remote trading, are struggling to execute trades from remote platforms, due to either inefficiency of their platforms, or a failure to give real online trading education to their clients before now.

The number of Coronavirus cases in Nigeria has increased to 65, with the world recording slightly above 500,000 cases and over 22,000 deaths to the virus that has so far devastated economies and markets, putting the globe on panic mode.
Bargain hunting in many markets across the world have been due to low valuation and expected impact of stimulus packages from central banks and governments to cushion the effects of the virus on businesses and individuals, like factories, airports, schools, and churches remain shutdown to curtail the spread of the deadly disease.

In the same way, the buying interest in Nigeria’s financial services stocks has resulted from low price attractions and high dividend payouts and yields among the banks, the recapitalization of insurance companies and the intrinsic value in some of the insurance stocks. The current prices provide ‘buy’ opportunities for short, medium and long-term investors who understand the power of timing in equity investment.
Meanwhile, Thursday’s trading started on the upside at the opening bell which was sustained midday before oscillating in the early afternoon on selloffs in large companies. Irrespective of the sell-down, the NSE index hit an intraday high of 21,903.00 basis points, from its low of 21,696.88bps, before closing the day higher at 21,757.47bps on positive breadth.

Market technicals for the session were positive and mixed, as volume traded was lower than previous day’s with breadth favoring the bulls, amidst a high selling pressure as revealed by Investdata’s Daily Sentiment Report, showing ‘sell’ volume of 71%. ‘Buy” position stood at 29% on a total daily transaction volume index of 0.39, just as the impetus behind the day’s performance was seriously weak, despite Money Flow Index inching up to 8.91 points, from the previous session’s 6.65bps, indicating that funds entered the market and some stocks.

Index and Market Caps
At the close of trading on Thursday, the composite NSE All-Share Index gained 27.99bps, closing at 21.757.47ps, from its opening figure of 21,729.48ps, which represented a 0.13% rise, just as market capitalization gained N15.2bn, closing at N11.34tr from the N11.32tr it opened, which also represented 0.13% appreciation in value. BOC Gases and Sterling Bank announced dividends per share of 30 kobo and five kobo respectively.
Attention: If you have not signed up for Investdata buy and sell signal setup, don’t delay. We have just added another risk management feature and new stocks of most revered traders and investors in corporate Nigeria to our watchlist. These stocks are with double potentials to rally considering their current market prices.

To become a member, send ‘YES’ or ‘STOCKS’ to the phone numbers below. Take advantage of this service to buy right and sell right at the current market recovery ahead of full-year earnings reporting season portfolio reshuffling and repositioning as we await an economic reform policy to stimulate and re-track the economy again.
The day’s upturn was impacted by bargain hunting in stocks like Guaranty Trust Bank, Zenith Bank, Access Bank, UBA, UBN, ETI, and Honeywell, which impacted mildly on the NSE index, reducing its Year-To-Date loss to 18.94. Market capitalization loss YTD stood at N1.62tr, representing a 12.58% decline over the year’s opening value.

Mixed Sector Indices
The sectorial performance indexes were largely bearish except for the NSE Banking and Insurance that closed 5.99% and 1.89% higher, while the NSE Consumer Goods led the decliners after losing 4.64%, followed by the NSE Oil/Gas and Industrial goods which were down by 0.21% and 0.16% respectively.
Market breadth remained positive as advancers outnumbered decliners in the ratio of 24:8, just as market transactions in volume and value terms were down by 26.26% and 15.72% respectively after investors exchanged 172.16m shares worth N1.89bn from the previous day’s 233.47m units valued at N2.24bn. Volume was driven by trades in Zenith Bank, UBA, Stanbic IBTC, FCMB, and Access Bank.
Morison Industries and UBN were the best-performing stocks for the session, topping the advancers table with their gain of 10% each, closing at N0.55 and N6.56 per share on market forces. On the flip side, Nestle Nigeria and GSK lost 10% and 7.89% respectively, closing at N765.00 and N3.50 respectively on selloffs.

Market Outlook
We expect mixed performance to continue, being the last trading day of the week as market players cash in on low prices to position ahead of the expected impact of the stimulus package on the economy in the midst of dividend payment by the companies that postponed their Annual General Meetings. However, the high dividend yields continue to attract buying interests, while more audited corporate earnings hit the market going forward. This is despite the likely continuation of the mixed intraday movement in the midst of selloffs, with investors buying increased positions in undervalued stocks ahead of dividend declaration. This is also against the backdrop of the fact that the capital wave in the financial market may persist in the midst of relatively low-interest rates in the money market, high inflation and unstable economic outlook for 2020.
Also, investors and traders are positioning in anticipation of the 2019 full-year earnings reports, amidst the changing sentiments in the hope of improved liquidity and positive economic indices which may reverse the current trend.
We see investors focusing on the upcoming full-year earnings season, targeting companies with strong potential to grow their dividend on the strength of their earnings capacity.

Again, the current undervalue state of the market offers investors opportunities to position for the short, medium and long-term, which is why investors should target fundamentally sound, and dividend-paying stocks for possible capital appreciation in the New Year.
This was noted in the 10 golden stocks and trading ideas for 2020, as discussed extensively during the Investdata 2020 Traders & Investors Summit held in Lagos.
Also, traders and investors need to change their strategies, because of the NSE’s pricing methodology, the CBN directives and their impact on the economy in the nearest future.

https://investdata.com.ng/2020/03/mixed-session-still-on-ngse-as-investors-grapple-with-realities-of-remote-trading/#more

Mixed Session May Continue, As Investors Interpret Impact Of MPC Decisions, Stimulus Package

Market Update for March 24
The composite All-Share index of the Nigerian Stock Exchange had a mixed performance on Tuesday as seen in the trading patterns of bargain hunters, with medium and high cap stocks hitting new lower lows. They are therefore selling at a huge discount, considering their intrinsic values as the Coronavirus continue to take a toll on the global and domestic economy, even as the central bank and government continue to unfold a bouquet of stimulus package to mitigate the impact on the Nigerian economy. The market reacted favorably to this on Tuesday, following which the indicators closed higher on Tuesday in the midst of rising new cases of the virus outbreak in the country involving prominent government officials.

In the midst of the wobbling economic situation and fear of the diseases triggering a major economic crisis, the Monetary Policy Committee while concluding its two-day meeting considered the continued rise in domestic prices; the glut in oil supplies and low oil prices in the wake of the current global pandemic. Members also reviewed the exchange rate pressure and other domestic monetary and fiscal responses as they affect the evolving crises. In view of these, the committee decided by a unanimous vote to retain the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 13.5%, and to hold all other policy parameters constant (READ MORE).
Although the market rounded up in the green, we do not see the market fully recovering from the grip of the bear soon, nevertheless, we are of the opinion that the long bearish moves offer listed equities at very attractive prices. Consequently, we recommend long term position taking in fundamentally strong equities.

The technical devaluation of the Naira, the lingering border closure and the impact of the global pandemic has reduced cross-border trading resulting in inflationary pressure on everything.
Again, as we discussed early this week, hyperinflation is underway, which means the temptation to hold cash is the worst option for now. The early evidence includes the low money market rates and declining yield in the fixed income market, just as the fear of government being able to redeem its bonds, especially given the shaky revenue profile already. The first place you look to preserve buying power is in stocks as a way of hedging against inflation.

Meanwhile, Tuesday’s trading started slightly on the upside and fell in the midday to the early afternoon before rebounding on buying interests on low price attraction across medium and large company shares. This pushed the benchmark index to an intraday high of 21,770.42 basis points, from its low of 21,703.80bps, before retracing up to finish the day higher at 21,714.16bps on positive breadth.
Tuesday’s market technicals were positive and mixed, as volume traded was lower than previous day’s with breadth favoring the bulls and mixed sentiments, as revealed by Investdata’s Daily Sentiment Report, showing ‘buy’ volume of 56%. ‘Sell’ position stood at 44% on a total daily transaction volume index of 0.76 just as the impetus behind the day’s performance was seriously weak, as Money Flow Index dropped to 12.30points, from the previous session’s 16.40bps. This indicated that funds exited some stocks and the market, despite the seeming upmarket.

Index and Market Caps
The composite NSEASI at the end of the trading, gained 40.18bps, closing at 21.714.16ps, from its opening figure of 21,700.98ps, which represented 0.19% limp, just as market capitalization rose by N20.96bn, closing at N11.33tr, from the N11.33tr opening level which also represented 0.19% value gain.
Attention: If you have not signed up for Investdata buy and sell signal setup, don’t delay. We have just added another risk management feature and new stocks of most revered traders and investors in corporate Nigeria to our watchlist. These stocks are with double potentials to rally considering their current market prices.

To become a member, send ‘YES’ or ‘STOCKS’ to the phone numbers below. Take advantage of this service to buy right and sell right at the current market recovery ahead of full-year earnings reporting season portfolio reshuffling and repositioning as we await an economic reform policy to stimulate and re-track the economy again.
The session’s upturn was impacted by the demand for stocks like Guaranty Trust Bank, Zenith Bank, Access Bank, FBNH, FCMB, and NPF Microfinance. This impacted mildly on the NSE, reducing its Year-To-Date loss to 19%, while market capitalization loss stood at N1.63, representing a 12.57% decline over the year’s opening value.

Mixed Sector Indices
The sectorial performance indexes were largely bullish except for the NSE Banking and Consumer Goods that closed 0.33% and 0.24% lower respectively, while the NSE Oil/Gas led the advancers after gaining 0.23%, followed by the NSE Insurance and Industrial Goods which were up by 0.12% and 0.02% respectively.
Market breadth turned positive as advancers outnumbered decliners in the ratio of 19:10, just as market activity in volume and value terms were down by 28.91% and 7.75% respectively, with investors exchanging 330.1m shares worth N3.57bn from the previous day’s 464.36m units valued at N3.87bn. This volume was boosted by trades in Guaranty Trust Bank, Zenith Bank, Access Bank, FBNH and UBA.
NPF Microfinance and Stanbic IBTC were the best-performing stocks as they topped the advancers table, gaining 9.52% and 9.43% respectively, closing at N1.15 and N26.10 per share on dividend expectation and low price attraction. On the flip side, Caverton and Conoil lost 10% and 9.93% respectively, closing at N2.25 and N13.15 respectively on market forces and selloffs.

Market Outlook
We expect mixed performance to continue, as market players interpret the outcome of MPC and expected impact of the stimulus package on the economy in the midst of investors expecting their dividend payment from the companies that postponed their AGM. There is also a low price attraction as investors and traders review the impact of economic measures of the government and its economic managers. However, the high dividend yields continue to attract buying interests, while more audited corporate earnings hit the market going forward. This is despite the likely continuation of the mixed intraday movement in the midst of selloffs, with investors buying increased positions in undervalued stocks ahead of dividend declaration. This is also against the backdrop of the fact that the capital wave in the financial market may persist in the midst of relatively low-interest rates in the money market, high inflation and unstable economic outlook for 2020.
Also, investors and traders are positioning in anticipation of the 2019 full-year earnings reports, amidst the changing sentiments in the hope of improved liquidity and positive economic indices which may reverse the current trend.
We see investors focusing on the upcoming full-year earnings season, targeting companies with strong potential to grow their dividend on the strength of their earnings capacity.

Again, the current undervalue state of the market offers investors opportunities to position for the short, medium and long-term, which is why investors should target fundamentally sound, and dividend-paying stocks for possible capital appreciation in the New Year.
This was noted in the 10 golden stocks and trading ideas for 2020, as discussed extensively during the Investdata 2020 Traders & Investors Summit held in Lagos.
Also, traders and investors need to change their strategies, because of the NSE’s pricing methodology, the CBN directives and their impact on the economy in the nearest future.

https://investdata.com.ng/2020/03/mixed-session-may-continue-as-investors-interpret-impact-of-mpc-decisions-stimulus-package/#more

Investdata Daily Sentiment Report as of 25 March, 2020

NSEASI buy 56% sell 44% volume index 0.76 MFI 12.31
Access buy � volume index 1.88 MFI 56.54
Cadbury buy 0% volume index 2.90 MFI 20.69
Fbnh buy 33% sell 67% MFI 20.84
Fcmb buy 33% sell 67% volume index 1.49 MFI 34.85
Fidelity buy 60% sell 40% volume index 1.47 MFI 45.68
GT buy 15% sell 85% volume index 0.97 MFI 53.00
Lasaco buy 50% sell 50% volume index 2.20 MFI 35.67
Npf buy � volume index 2.60 MFI 54.42
Oando buy 0% MFI 43.27
Sterling buy � volume index 1.72 MFI 15.01
Transcorp buy � volume index 0.73 MFI 19.49
Uba buy 0% MFI 28.68
Ucap buy 44% sell 56% MFI 25.50
Wapic buy � MFI 2.39
Wema buy � MFI 42.50
Zenith buy 67% sell 33% volume index 0.83 MFI 33.94

https://investdataltd..com/2020/03/investdata-daily-sentiment-report-as-of_27.html

N5.29bn Loan Loss Reversal Lifts Fidelity Bank’s Profit By 24%

Directors Propose N0.20 Dividend Per Share
Directors of Fidelity Bank, on Monday, published its audited numbers for the full-year ended December 31, 2019, highlights of which that profit grew faster than gross earnings, following which shareholders would receive a dividend of 20 kobo per share, the highest in the history of the institution. This was helped in part by the N5.292bn credit loss reversal, compared to the N4.215bn credit loss expense reported for the year ended December 2018.

Gross earnings for the period increased by 14.03% from N189.005bn in 2018, to N215.514bn, the lion’s share of which was the N97.398bn earned from its retail banking business segment; followed by N72.432bn from corporate banking, while investment banking contributed 45.685bn. Interest income climbed 18.65% from N153.685bn to N182.344bn, including other interest and similar income of N5.35bn, which rose from N3.769bn. Interest expense rose by 18.07% to N99.289bn, compared to the previous year’s N84.095bn; resulting in net interest income of N83.055bn, as against the N73.356bn reported in the corresponding period of 2018.
Net interest income after credit loss expense stood at N88.347bn, up from N69.141bn.
Fee and commission income improved from N20.41bn in 2018 to N25.262bn, with ATM charges pooling N4.44bn, ahead of the N3.295bn in accounts maintenance charges; N3.141bn from the commission on travellers’ cheques, and N2.947bn earned from e-banking activities. Fee and commission expense climbed to N3.346bn from N5.268bn. The bank reported a new line item- net loss on derecognition of financial assets measured at amortised cost of N4.705bn.

Other operating income fell from N11.144bn in 2018 to N7.908bn; personnel expenses rose marginally from N23.91bn to 24.129bn; depreciation and amortization dropped slightly to N5.421bn from N6.247bn. Other operating expenses for the period rose from N41.971bn to N52.442bn, resulting in profit before tax of N30.353bn, from N25.089bn, representing an increase of 20.98%. Income tax expense dropped from N2.163bn to N1.928bn; following which net profit for the year jumped from N22.926bn to N28.425bn; with retail banking accounting for N18.907bn; followed by corporate banking, N5.096bn; while the balance N4.422bn came from investment banking.
Total assets for the year grew by N394.154bn, or 22.92% from N1.719tr to N2.114tr, significantly driven by the 32.6% growth in customer loans and advances from N849.88bn to N1.126tr, which may be the impact of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Loan to Deposit Ratio, which rose first to 60% and now 65% from December 31, 2019.

Total liabilities increased from N1.525tr to N1.88tr, helped by customer deposits of N1.225tr, up from N979.413bn, representing an increase of N245.8bn or 25.09%; while total equity increased from N194.416bn to N234.03bn.
According to Fidelity Bank’s Chief Executive, Nnamdi Okonkwo expressed delight with the performance, “we are delighted at the results which clearly showed that we sustained our performance trajectory and continued to increase our market share driven by significant traction in our chosen business segments,” he said.

On Digital Banking he said the results were enhanced by new initiatives in the retail lending segment and the deepening of the bank’s existing digital products. According to him “We now have 47.4% of our customers enrolled on the mobile/internet banking products, 82.0% of total transactions now done on digital platforms and 31.1% of fee-based income now coming from our digital banking business”.
He further revealed that the efforts aimed at strengthening the bank’s foothold of the retail market is yielding significant results with savings deposits rising by 20.7% to N275.2bn making it the 6th consecutive year of double-digit growth.
“Savings deposits now account for about 22.5% of total deposits, an attestation of our increasing market share in the retail segment” stated Okonkwo.

Just as was seen with deposit growth, there was also a corresponding increase in the bank’s retail assets. Specifically, Retail loans grew by 42.9% to N53.8bn driven by the bank’s new digital lending products and partnership with Fintechs. As of December 2019, the bank had disbursed over 70,000 micro-loans on our flagship digital lending product (Fidelity FastLoan) in partnership with Migo.
Conversely, there was a remarkable improvement in Non-performing loans (NPLs). The bank’s NPL ratio dropped to 3.3% from 5.7% in the 2018FY due primarily to the growth in the loan book and a 25.1% decline in absolute NPLs resulting from the loan write-offs of over N12bn.

https://investdata.com.ng/2020/03/n5-29bn-loan-loss-reversal-lifts-fidelity-banks-profit-by-24/#more

Investdata Daily Sentiment Report as of 26 March, 2020

NSEASI buy 44% sell 56% MFI 6.65
Access buy 0% volume index 2.15 MFI 61.09
Aiico buy � MFI 28.25
Eti buy 0% volume index 3.14 MFI 46.42
Fbnh buy 0% MFI 19.77
Fcmb buy 0% MFI 34.93
Fidelity buy 78% sell 22% MFI 42.53
Glaxo buy 0% volume index 3.71 MFI 62.81
GT buy 27% sell 73% MFI 48.30
Jaiz buy 0% MFI 27.98
Lasaco buy 0% volume index 0.96 MFI 38.67
Lvstk buy 0% volume index 0.91 MFI 41.57
Nem buy � MFI 11.26
Oando buy � MFI 32.06
Sterling buy 0% MFI 12.84
Transcorp buy � MFI 15.01
Uba buy � MFI 26.02
Ucap buy 0% MFI 46.30
Wapco buy � volume index 1.25 MFI 21.42
Wapic buy � MFI 3.48
Wema buy � MFI 40.84
Zenith buy 64% sell 36% MFI 32.09

https://investdataltd..com/2020/03/investdata-daily-sentiment-report-as-of_43.html

Lawan, Gbajabiamila Meet Ministers, CBN Gov, Over Planned 2020 Budget Review

•FG Cuts Customs Revenue Target By 37% To N943bn
•Lagos To Get N10bn To Combat Coronavirus Spread
The leadership of the National Assembly on Wednesday met heads of Federal Government Ministries, Department and Agencies to brainstorm on the impact of Coronavirus pandemic on the Nigerian economy.
The meeting specifically touched on the planned review of the 2020 budget and Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper passed late last year by the National Assembly.
In his opening remarks, President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, who presided over the meeting, said an immediate review of the 2020 budget and Medium Term Expenditure Framework is imperative, particularly against the backdrop of the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on the global economy.

The meeting, which lasted almost four hours, according to Lawan, was summoned to “discuss the proposed review of the 2020 budget and the Medium Term Expenditure Framework.”
If we have to review the budget itself, we have to consider the MTEF/FSP.
“Even in sickness, we need government to provide services.
“The impact of COVID-19 is well known to all of us in terms of health and the economy.
“Here, we will be talking of revenues that we estimated to fund the budget 2020.
“Because the oil price has gone so low due to the impact of COVID-19, the Minister of State should be able to tell us where we will be in the next six months or so.
“We should have concepts that can deliver fast and are sustainable.
“Anything that we do that cannot provide succor and relief to our people will lead to catastrophe,” the Senate President warned.
Also speaking, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila described the meeting as very timely, taking “a cursory look at some of the papers(presentations).
“I think this meeting is actually very timely and very important because we live in a very unusual time and it’s time we start thinking outside the box to see how we can stabilise our economy and the direction it’s going to take,” he said.

In her presentation, the Minister for Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, explained that “prior to COVID-19 and Oil price decline, the Nigerian economy was already fragile and vulnerable.”
According to her, due to the global economic downturn precipitated by the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic, international Oil prices plunged as low as $22 (USD) per barrel at the international market.
She added that the impact of the pandemic which resulted in the international crisis created a disruption in travel and trade, and put “increasing pressure on the naira and foreign reserves as the crude oil sales receipts decline and the country’s macro-economic outlook worsens.”
Ahmed said that in view of Nigeria’s economic realities, the Crisis Management Committee constituted by President Muhammadu Buhari in response to the COVID-19 and Oil Price Decline Crisis expressed concern that “the decline in international oil prices or domestic production may be magnified if a severe outbreak of the pandemic occurs in Nigeria.”
Accordingly, the Minister proposed a review of the 2020 budget using a US$30 per barrel price benchmark as against USD$57 initially passed in December by the National Assembly, to prepare for the worst-case scenario, as well as insulate the Nigeria economy against any form of unexpected crisis.

She also told the leadership of the National Assembly that budgeted revenues for the Nigeria Customs Service have been reduced from N1.5tr to N943bn “due to anticipated reduction in trade volumes; and privatization proceeds to be cut by 50%, based on the adverse economic outlook on sales of the Independent Power Projects (IPPs) and other assets.”
Similarly, Ahmed disclosed that the Federal Government has undertaken cuts to Revenue-related expenditures for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for several projects included in the 2020 Appropriation Act passed by the National Assembly in December 2019.
“The Federal Government is working on Fiscal Stimulus Measures to provide fiscal relief for Taxpayers and key economic sectors; incentivize employers to retain and recruit staff during the economic downturn; stimulate investment in critical infrastructure; review non-essential tax waivers to optimize revenues, and complement monetary and trade interventions to respond to the crisis,” the Finance Minister disclosed.
She added that the Federal Government had made provision for health sector interventions by introducing import duty waivers for essential input for pharmaceutical firms; tax waivers on new equipment; and deferment of tax to increase production.

Ahmed further disclosed that the Federal Government would be releasing the total sum of N6.5bn in two tranches (N1.5bn and N5bn) to the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) as an intervention to assist in the fight against the spread of the COVID-19 disease in Nigeria.
Also, she stated that the Lagos State Government would receive financial support from the Federal Government to the tune of N10bn to combat Coronavirus spread in the state.
In addition, she informed the lawmakers that Nigeria had received a grant of US$18.2m from Japan for strengthening the seven National Centres for Disease Control (NCDC) across the country.

The Finance Minister said that the sum of N1bn would be released by the government to Pharmaceutical firms in the country.
In his presentation, the Governor of the Central Bank, Godwin Emefiele said, “while we would expect to see a decline in our expected growth projection for 2020 relative to 2019, the exact impact will be dependent on how well the Coronavirus is contained over the next few months, and how long low oil prices persist.”
Members of the National Assembly Leadership present at the meeting include Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege; Deputy Speaker, Idris Wase; Senate Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi; Leader of the House, Ado Doguwa; Deputy Senate Leader, Ajayi Boroffice; Senate Minority Leader; Enyinnaya Abaribe; Minority Leader of the House, Ndudi Elumelu; Senate Deputy Whip, Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi; Deputy Minority Whip, Philip Aduda.
Others are Senator Barau Jibrin, Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriations; and Senator Uba Sani, Chairman, Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions.

Members from the Executive present at the meeting held at the National Assembly complex include Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Agba; Minister of Petroleum Resources (State), Timipre Sylva.
Others are the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele; Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari, and Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Babajide Omoworare.

Photo news: From left, Minister of State for Finance, Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Agba; Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed; Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele; Minister of Petroleum Resources (State), Timipre Sylva; and Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mele Kyari at a meeting with the Leadership of the National Assembly on the planned review of the 2020 budget on Wednesday, March 25, 2020, at the National Assembly, Abuja.

https://investdata.com.ng/2020/03/lawan-gbajabiamila-meet-ministers-cbn-gov-over-planned-2020-budget-review/

Investdata Daily Sentiment Report as of 27 March, 2020

NSEASI buy 29% sell 71% MFI 8.91
Access buy � MFI 66.80
Afrprud buy � MFI 63.51
Chams buy � volume index 0.86 MFI 33.73
Eti buy 0% MFI 53.12
Fbnh buy 67% sell 33% MFI 20.53
Fcmb buy 20% sell 80% volume index 1.27 MFI 29.66
Fidelity buy � MFI 36.29
Fidson buy 16% sell 84% volume index 2.19 MFI 75.60
Glaxo buy 0% volume index 2.29 MFI 52.92
GT buy � MFI 50.44
Oando buy 75% sell 25% volume index 0.94 MFI 35.04
Stanbic buy � volume index 1.46 MFI 65.81
Sterling buy � volume index 2.27 MFI 19.14
Transcorp buy � MFI 18.47
Uba buy � MFI 28.43
Ubn buy � volume index 1.81 MFI 26.75
Wapco buy 60% sell 40% volume index 2.28 MFI 24.77
Wapic buy � MFI 3.33
Zenith buy � MFI 35.56

https://investdataltd..com/2020/03/investdata-daily-sentiment-report-as-of_34.html

Investors Cash In On Low Price Attractions, Position Ahead Expected Impact Of Stimulus Packages

Market Update for March 25
The power and role of technology in driving online stock trading was fully demonstrated at the midweek’s trading session with the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) commenced remote trading as a measure to curtail the spread of the ravaging Coronavirus that is killing more stock markets and economies than people.
The composite All-Share index closed lower on a volatile and mixed trading, halting the previous day’s gain on positive market breadth and lower traded volume.

It is expected that, at this challenging period for the economy, the government and her economic managers would step up implementation of policies and measures already identified among those that can counter the effects of the pandemic. The news of stimulus packages and expected implementation in other nations of the world have started reflecting on their stock markets which just suffered huge losses as it rebounded with big gains in recent days trading. The leadership of the National Assembly met with key Ministers and officials of revenue generating agencies, as well as the governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to fashion a more realistic 2020 budget in the light of global realities and international oil price that has fallen below the $57 per barrel benchmark. The Federal Government had earlier cut the benchmark price to $30 per barrel, reducing its spending plan by N1.5tr, while revenue target for the Nigerian Customs Service by 37% from N1.5tr to N943bn, among others (READ MORE).
The seemingly improved buying interest in financial services stocks, consumer and industrial goods failed to push the market up as selloffs in large company shares dragged the key performance index down. This provides buy opportunities for short, medium and long-term investors who understand the power of timing in equity investments, as most listed companies are selling at their 10, or 11-year lows.
Nevertheless, we are of the view that this downturn would not last at these very attractive prices, following which we advise stage-by-stage positioning in fundamentally strong equities.

Wednesday’s trading opened slightly in the green and oscillated between the midmorning and early afternoon as bargain hunting in undervalued stocks continued before the sell down in MTNN and Total Nigeria pushed the NSE index to an intraday low of 21,663.32 basis points, from its high of 21,814.74bps, before sliding to close the session at 21,729.48bps.
Market technicals for the day were weak and mixed, as volume traded was lower than previous day’s with breadth favoring the bulls, just as there were mixed sentiments, as revealed by Investdata’s Daily Sentiment Report, showing ‘buy’ volume of 44%. ‘Sell’ position stood at 56% on a total daily transaction volume index of 0.53, just as the momentum behind the day’s performance was seriously weak. Money Flow Index dropped to 6.65 points, from the previous session’s 12.30bps, indicating that funds left the market and some stocks.

Index and Market Caps
At the end of Wednesday’s trading, the All-Share index shed 11.68bps, closing at 21.729.48ps, from its opening figure of 21,741.16ps, which represented a 0.05% drop, just as market capitalization lost N6.09bn, closing at N11.32tr, as the N11.33tr opening level which also represented 0.05% value loss.
Attention: If you have not signed up for Investdata buy and sell signal setup, don’t delay. We have just added another risk management feature and new stocks of most revered traders and investors in corporate Nigeria to our watchlist. These stocks are with double potentials to rally considering their current market prices.

To become a member, send ‘YES’ or ‘STOCKS’ to the phone numbers below. Take advantage of this service to buy right and sell right at the current market recovery ahead of full-year earnings reporting season portfolio reshuffling and repositioning as we await an economic reform policy to stimulate and re-track the economy again.
Midweek’s downturn was driven by selloffs in stocks like MTNN, Total Nigeria, Africa Prudential, FCMB, GSK and NEM Insurance. This impacted slightly on the NSE index, increasing its Year-To-Date loss to 19.05%, while market capitalization loss stood at N1.64tr, representing a 12.62% decline over the year’s opening value.

Bullish Sector Indices
The sectorial performance indexes were largely bullish except for the NSE Oil/Gas that closed 1.01% lower, while the NSE Banking led the advancers after gaining 2.94%, followed by the NSE Insurance, Industrial and Consumer Goods which were up by 1.43%, 0.35% and 0.17% respectively.
Market breadth remained positive as advancers outnumbered decliners in the ratio of 20:7 just as market transactions in volume and value terms were down by 29.27% and 37.25% respectively, after investors traded 233.47m shares worth N2.24bn from the previous day’s 330.1m units valued at N3.57bn. This volume was boosted by trades in Guaranty Trust Bank, Zenith Bank, Access Bank, UBA and FBNH
The best-performing stocks for the day were Cutix and Cadbury which topped the advancers table, gaining 10% and 9.71% respectively, closing at N1.32 and N5.65 per share on low price attraction. On the flip side, Total Nigeria and Africa Prudential lost 10% and 9.87% respectively, closing at N96.30 and N3.47 respectively on selloffs and market forces.

Market Outlook
We expect mixed performance to continue, as market players cash in on low prices to position ahead of the expected impact of the stimulus package on the economy in the midst of dividend payment by the companies that postponed their Annual General Meetings. However, the high dividend yields continue to attract buying interests, while more audited corporate earnings hit the market going forward. This is despite the likely continuation of the mixed intraday movement in the midst of selloffs, with investors buying increased positions in undervalued stocks ahead of dividend declaration. This is also against the backdrop of the fact that the capital wave in the financial market may persist in the midst of relatively low-interest rates in the money market, high inflation and unstable economic outlook for 2020.

Also, investors and traders are positioning in anticipation of the 2019 full-year earnings reports, amidst the changing sentiments in the hope of improved liquidity and positive economic indices which may reverse the current trend.
We see investors focusing on the upcoming full-year earnings season, targeting companies with strong potential to grow their dividend on the strength of their earnings capacity.
Again, the current undervalue state of the market offers investors opportunities to position for the short, medium and long-term, which is why investors should target fundamentally sound, and dividend-paying stocks for possible capital appreciation in the New Year.
This was noted in the 10 golden stocks and trading ideas for 2020, as discussed extensively during the Investdata 2020 Traders & Investors Summit held in Lagos.

Also, traders and investors need to change their strategies, because of the NSE’s pricing methodology, the CBN directives and their impact on the economy in the nearest future.
Meanwhile, the home study packs of our Invest 2020 Opportunities and Trade Ideas Summit, containing the 10 Golden Stocks for 2020 are available. To obtain your pack send ‘Yes’ or ‘Stock’ to 08028164085, 08032055467, 08111811223 now.

https://investdata.com.ng/2020/03/investors-cash-in-on-low-price-attractions-position-ahead-expected-impact-of-stimulus-packages/

Investdata Weekly Sentiment Report for week ended 29th March, 2020

NSEASI buy 36% sell 64% volume index 0.97 MFI 32.34
Access buy � volume index 0.90 MFI 36.86
Afrprud buy 20% sell 80% volume index 0.89 MFI 47.06
Aiico buy � MFI 71.84
Cadbury buy � volume index 3.25 MFI 23.74
Cap buy � MFI 28.40
Caverton buy 0% MFI 60.32
Chams buy � volume index 1.10 MFI 10.67
Chiplc buy � volume index 0.89 MFI 12.64
Cileasing buy 0% volume index 1.15 MFI 47.48
Conoil buy 0% volume index 1.63 MFI 30.46
Courtville buy � MFI 19.28
Custodian buy � MFI 22.77
Cutix buy � MFI 65.81
Dangflour buy 0% MFI 90.61
Dangsugar buy 0% MFI 35.25
Eti buy 42% sell 58% volume index 0.94 MFI 34.98
Fbnh buy 60% sell 40% volume index 1.15 MFI 31.04
Fcmb buy 63% sell 37% volume index 1.21 MFI 46.69
Fidelity buy 83% sell 17% volume index 1.28 MFI 45.12
Fidson buy 86% sell 14% volume index 3.70 MFI 15.70
Fmn buy � MFI 56.16
Glaxo buy 70% sell 30% volume index 1.68 MFI 34.47
GT buy 63% sell 37% volume index 1.47 MFI 18.50
Honyflour buy � MFI 46.44
Lasaco buy � volume index 0.99 MFI 42.21
Lawunion buy � MFI 41.97
Linkass buy 0% volume index 1.70 MFI 11.75
Lvstk buy 25% sell 75% MFI 77.26
M&B buy � volume index 1.25 MFI 36.01
Mtnn buy 0% MFI 42.26
Nahco buy � MFI 48.57
Nascon buy 0% volume index 2.90 MFI 49.04
Neimeth buy � MFI 27.14
Nem buy � volume index 6.15 MFI 67.66
Nestle buy 0% volume index 1.72 MFI 5.49
Npf buy � volume index 0.97 MFI 36.41
Oando buy 24% sell 76% volume index 1.01 MFI 26.41
Prestige buy � MFI 62.96
Pz buy � MFI 42.67
Red buy 0% volume index 7.58 MFI 25.65
Royalex buy 0% MFI 39.52
Stanbic buy 31% sell 69% volume index 1.67 MFI 21.58
Sterling buy � volume index 1.34 MFI 45.63
Total buy 0% volume index 1.63 MFI 18.70
Transcorp buy � volume index 0.72 MFI 49.52
Uacp buy � MFI 58.85
Uacn buy � MFI 62.19
Uba buy � volume index 0.86 MFI 35.27
Ubn buy � volume index 0.87 MFI 62.67
Ucap buy � volume index 0.71 MFI 54.13
Uniondac buy � MFI 0.94
Vitafoam buy � MFI 57.53
Wapco buy 60% sell 40% volume index 1.36 MFI 65.49
Wapic buy � MFI 51.29
Wema buy � MFI 38.50
Zenith buy 90% sell 10% volume index 1.35 MFI 33.65

https://investdataltd..com/2020/03/investdata-weekly-sentiment-report-for.html

Mixed Session Ahead, As Investors Position For 2020Q1 Earnings, Impact Of Stimulus Packages

Market Update for March 30
Panic selling again resurfaced on the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Monday as the key performance indicators closed lower on negative sentiment and low traded volume ahead of the 14-day lockdown of two states of Lagos and Ogun, as well as the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, as part of measures to check the spread of the Coronavirus (Covid-19).
Monday’s loss wiped out the previous sessions seems gains, amidst weak sentiment and indecision among players, which dampened the day’s performance as investors sold off positions in high cap stocks especially in the banking sector that recorded gains last week. The attempted recovery failed to follow through on the ravaging coronavirus that had upset stock markets and economies across the world.

The loss also occurred on a day new cases of Covid-19 in Nigeria increased to 131, with a second death recorded also on Monday.
The ongoing capital outflow from the emerging and frontier markets is due to the imminent global recession as the benchmark indexes of many stocks markets, are down by over 20% since February. In Nigeria, owing to Monday’s decline, the market has lost 18.6% and 20.5%, Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date respectively.

The market’s outlook remains unstable during this lockdown period and beyond, due to the notably high volatility in developed and developing markets, the seeming positive sentiment on quarter-end window dressing and the bouquet of stimulus packages have been unable to support the market. There is no clear road map for implementing these fiscal and monetary measures and ensuring that it is devoid of the usual bottlenecks, or even ensuring that the stimulus package unveiled by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) gets to the end-users seamlessly.
Meanwhile, Monday’s trading opened on the downside in the morning and was sustained throughout the session as selloffs hit large companies, irrespective of the seeming undervalued prices. This pushed the NSE’s benchmark index to an intraday low of 21,330.79 basis points, from its high of 21,828.65bps, before closing the session lower at 21,330.79bps on a negative breadth.

Monday’s market technicals were negative and mixed, as volume traded was higher than previous day’s in the midst of breadth that favoured the bears, and high selling pressure as revealed by Investdata’s Daily Sentiment Report, showing ‘sell’ volume of 100%. ‘Buy” position stood at 0% on a total daily transaction volume index of 1.03, just as momentum behind the day’s performance was seriously weak, despite Money Flow Index inching up to 12.19 points, from the previous session’s 11.88ps, indicating that funds entered the market and some stocks, despite the down market.

Index and Market Caps
At the end of trading on Monday, the NSE’s All-Share Index lost 530.99bps, closing at 21.330.79ps, from its opening figure of 21,861.78ps, which represented a 2.43% decline, just as market capitalization shed N276.73bn, closing at N11.12tr from the N11.39tr it opened, which also represented 2.43% depreciation in value.

Attention: If you have not signed up for Investdata buy and sell signal setup, don’t delay. We have just added another risk management feature and new stocks of most revered traders and investors in corporate Nigeria to our watchlist. These stocks are with double potentials to rally considering their current market prices.
To become a member, send ‘YES’ or ‘STOCKS’ to the phone numbers below. Take advantage of this service to buy right and sell right at the current market recovery ahead of full-year earnings reporting season portfolio reshuffling and repositioning as we await an economic reform policy to stimulate and re-track the economy again.
The session’s downturn was impacted by selloffs and profit-taking in stocks like MTNN, Guaranty Trust Bank, Zenith Bank, Access Bank, UBA and FBNH which impacted negatively on the NSE index, increasing its Year-To-Date loss to 20.55%. Market capitalization lost YTD stood at N1.82tr, representing a 14.84% decline over the year’s opening value.

Mixed Sector Indices
The sectorial performance indexes were largely bearish except for the NSE Oil/Gas and Industrial goods that closed 1.77% and 0.01% higher, while the NSE Banking led the decliners after losing 3.62%, followed by the NSE Consumer Goods and Insurance which were down by 0.92% and 0.52% respectively.
Market breadth turned negative as decliners outnumbered advancers in the ratio of 15:11, just as market activity in volume and value were mixed as traded volume was up by 85.55% to 466.91m shares from the previous day’s 251.41m units, while value was down by 42.56% to N1.93bn from Friday’s N3.36bn. This volume was driven by trades in Meyer, Champion Breweries, Zenith Bank, UBA and FBNH.
The best-performing stocks for the session were Berger Paints and 11 Plc that chalked the advancers’ table with gains of 9.84% and 9.83% respectively, closing at N6.70 and N160.90 per share on market forces. On the flip side, MTN Nigeria and Wema Bank lost 10% and 9.62% respectively, closing at N90 and N0.47respectively on selloffs and profit-taking.

Market Outlook
We expect mixed intraday performance to continue, as two weeks trading sessions remain unclear till midweek to confirm direction, with market players are likely to position ahead of Q1 2020 earnings reports and impact of the stimulus package on the economy in the midst of dividend payment by the companies that postponed their Annual General Meetings and others.

However, the high dividend yields continue to attract buying interests, while more audited corporate earnings hit the market going forward. This is despite the likely continuation of the mixed intraday movement in the midst of selloffs, with investors buying increased positions in undervalued stocks ahead of dividend declaration. This is also against the backdrop of the fact that the capital wave in the financial market may persist in the midst of relatively low-interest rates in the money market, high inflation and unstable economic outlook for 2020.
Also, investors and traders are positioning in anticipation of the 2019 full-year earnings reports, amidst the changing sentiments in the hope of improved liquidity and positive economic indices which may reverse the current trend.
We see investors focusing on the upcoming full-year earnings season, targeting companies with strong potential to grow their dividend on the strength of their earnings capacity.

Again, the current undervalue state of the market offers investors opportunities to position for the short, medium and long-term, which is why investors should target fundamentally sound, and dividend-paying stocks for possible capital appreciation in the New Year.
This was noted in the 10 golden stocks and trading ideas for 2020, as discussed extensively during the Investdata 2020 Traders & Investors Summit held in Lagos.
Also, traders and investors need to change their strategies, because of the NSE’s pricing methodology, the CBN directives and their impact on the economy in the nearest future.

https://investdata.com.ng/2020/03/mixed-session-ahead-as-investors-position-for-2020q1-earnings-impact-of-stimulus-packages/#more

Fund, Portfolio Managers To Submit Quarterly, Annual Reports- Draft SEC Rule

Nigeria’s Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), last week published an exposure draft of its proposed rule on regulation of fund management products, which among others, seeks to plug loopholes in the regulation of that segment of the financial services sector.
According to the exposure draft and subject to final approval, among others, “every fund/portfolio manager shall submit quarterly returns and annual reports in respect of such product, discretionary or non-discretionary portfolio/fund, in a form as determined by the commission.”

The proposed rule and regulation, according to the commission is in line with its powers under Section 13(a) of the Investment and Securities Act 2007, which empowers the commission to regulate investments and securities business in Nigeria as defined in the Act.
The Rule, it explained “has become essential to actively monitor the operation of CMO (Capital Market Operators) products including discretionary and non-discretionary funds/portfolios”

This has also become expedient, the commission noted, given that these funds continue to account “for approximately twice the size of CIS (Collective Investment Schemes or Mutual) funds in the investment management sector.”
Furthermore, it said its “inspection of CMO operations have revealed that some of these products mimic the CIS structure (even when they) are erroneously classified as private in-house funds.”

When approved, the rule forbids individuals or entities not registered as fund, or fund managers from operating “any product that pools investors’ monies, including discretionary or non-discretionary portfolios/funds.
Such fund or portfolio manager shall not also “develop and operate any product, discretionary or nondiscretionary portfolio/fund without the Commission’s prior approval or ‘no objection;” just as they are not allowed to advertise, market or attract investors to the existence of such, other than registered collective investment schemes.

The commission proposes that persons or entities that contravenes the rule shall be liable to a penalty of not less than ₦500,000 and another N10,000 for every day the violation continues in respect of each product, discretionary or non-discretionary fund/portfolio under management. The person or entity may also be liable to suspension of registration; withdrawal of registration; disgorgement of proceeds/income from the product, discretionary or nondiscretionary portfolio/fund; and any other sanction the commission deems necessary in the circumstance.

https://investdata.com.ng/2020/03/fund-portfolio-managers-to-submit-quarterly-annual-reports-draft-sec-rule/#more

Mixed Session Still On NGSE, As Investors Grapple With Realities Of Remote Trading

Market Update for March 26
Volatility and mixed trading continued Thursday on the Nigerian Stock Exchange as the benchmark index closed marginally higher, halting the previous session’s loss on low volume traded that reflected the level of indecision among traders. There is also the effects of the remote trading, following the closure of the trading floor as a safety measure in the wake of the ravaging Coronavirus pandemic that has made governments shut down non-essential services across the globe. Many stockbroking firms and their clients, especially those that have not perfected the act of remote trading, are struggling to execute trades from remote platforms, due to either inefficiency of their platforms, or a failure to give real online trading education to their clients before now.

The number of Coronavirus cases in Nigeria has increased to 65, with the world recording slightly above 500,000 cases and over 22,000 deaths to the virus that has so far devastated economies and markets, putting the globe on panic mode.
Bargain hunting in many markets across the world have been due to low valuation and expected impact of stimulus packages from central banks and governments to cushion the effects of the virus on businesses and individuals, like factories, airports, schools, and churches remain shutdown to curtail the spread of the deadly disease.

In the same way, the buying interest in Nigeria’s financial services stocks has resulted from low price attractions and high dividend payouts and yields among the banks, the recapitalization of insurance companies and the intrinsic value in some of the insurance stocks. The current prices provide ‘buy’ opportunities for short, medium and long-term investors who understand the power of timing in equity investment.
Meanwhile, Thursday’s trading started on the upside at the opening bell which was sustained midday before oscillating in the early afternoon on selloffs in large companies. Irrespective of the sell-down, the NSE index hit an intraday high of 21,903.00 basis points, from its low of 21,696.88bps, before closing the day higher at 21,757.47bps on positive breadth.

Market technicals for the session were positive and mixed, as volume traded was lower than previous day’s with breadth favoring the bulls, amidst a high selling pressure as revealed by Investdata’s Daily Sentiment Report, showing ‘sell’ volume of 71%. ‘Buy” position stood at 29% on a total daily transaction volume index of 0.39, just as the impetus behind the day’s performance was seriously weak, despite Money Flow Index inching up to 8.91 points, from the previous session’s 6.65bps, indicating that funds entered the market and some stocks.

Index and Market Caps
At the close of trading on Thursday, the composite NSE All-Share Index gained 27.99bps, closing at 21.757.47ps, from its opening figure of 21,729.48ps, which represented a 0.13% rise, just as market capitalization gained N15.2bn, closing at N11.34tr from the N11.32tr it opened, which also represented 0.13% appreciation in value. BOC Gases and Sterling Bank announced dividends per share of 30 kobo and five kobo respectively.
Attention: If you have not signed up for Investdata buy and sell signal setup, don’t delay. We have just added another risk management feature and new stocks of most revered traders and investors in corporate Nigeria to our watchlist. These stocks are with double potentials to rally considering their current market prices.

To become a member, send ‘YES’ or ‘STOCKS’ to the phone numbers below. Take advantage of this service to buy right and sell right at the current market recovery ahead of full-year earnings reporting season portfolio reshuffling and repositioning as we await an economic reform policy to stimulate and re-track the economy again.
The day’s upturn was impacted by bargain hunting in stocks like Guaranty Trust Bank, Zenith Bank, Access Bank, UBA, UBN, ETI, and Honeywell, which impacted mildly on the NSE index, reducing its Year-To-Date loss to 18.94. Market capitalization loss YTD stood at N1.62tr, representing a 12.58% decline over the year’s opening value.

Mixed Sector Indices
The sectorial performance indexes were largely bearish except for the NSE Banking and Insurance that closed 5.99% and 1.89% higher, while the NSE Consumer Goods led the decliners after losing 4.64%, followed by the NSE Oil/Gas and Industrial goods which were down by 0.21% and 0.16% respectively.

Market breadth remained positive as advancers outnumbered decliners in the ratio of 24:8, just as market transactions in volume and value terms were down by 26.26% and 15.72% respectively after investors exchanged 172.16m shares worth N1.89bn from the previous day’s 233.47m units valued at N2.24bn. Volume was driven by trades in Zenith Bank, UBA, Stanbic IBTC, FCMB, and Access Bank.
Morison Industries and UBN were the best-performing stocks for the session, topping the advancers table with their gain of 10% each, closing at N0.55 and N6.56 per share on market forces. On the flip side, Nestle Nigeria and GSK lost 10% and 7.89% respectively, closing at N765.00 and N3.50 respectively on selloffs.

Market Outlook
We expect mixed performance to continue, being the last trading day of the week as market players cash in on low prices to position ahead of the expected impact of the stimulus package on the economy in the midst of dividend payment by the companies that postponed their Annual General Meetings. However, the high dividend yields continue to attract buying interests, while more audited corporate earnings hit the market going forward. This is despite the likely continuation of the mixed intraday movement in the midst of selloffs, with investors buying increased positions in undervalued stocks ahead of dividend declaration. This is also against the backdrop of the fact that the capital wave in the financial market may persist in the midst of relatively low-interest rates in the money market, high inflation and unstable economic outlook for 2020.

Also, investors and traders are positioning in anticipation of the 2019 full-year earnings reports, amidst the changing sentiments in the hope of improved liquidity and positive economic indices which may reverse the current trend.
We see investors focusing on the upcoming full-year earnings season, targeting companies with strong potential to grow their dividend on the strength of their earnings capacity.

Again, the current undervalue state of the market offers investors opportunities to position for the short, medium and long-term, which is why investors should target fundamentally sound, and dividend-paying stocks for possible capital appreciation in the New Year.
This was noted in the 10 golden stocks and trading ideas for 2020, as discussed extensively during the Investdata 2020 Traders & Investors Summit held in Lagos.

Also, traders and investors need to change their strategies, because of the NSE’s pricing methodology, the CBN directives and their impact on the economy in the nearest future.
Meanwhile, the home study packs of our Invest 2020 Opportunities and Trade Ideas Summit, containing the 10 Golden Stocks for 2020 are available. To obtain your pack send ‘Yes’ or ‘Stock’ to 08028164085, 08032055467, 08111811223 now.

https://investdata.com.ng/2020/03/mixed-session-still-on-ngse-as-investors-grapple-with-realities-of-remote-trading/#more

Corporate Actions On NGSE As Of Friday, March 27, 2020

https://investdata.com.ng/2020/03/corporate-actions-on-ngse-as-of-friday-march-27-2020/#more

Mixed Sentiments Ahead On NGSE, As Investors Review Devts Around Covid 19 Pandemic

Market Update for the Week Ended March 27 and Outlook for March 30-Apr 3
The mixed trading pattern and performance continued for the second week on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) with the benchmark All-Share index extending to the third successive week of decline on low transaction volume. This is happening amidst mixed sentiments as the number of Covid-19 cases in Nigeria rose to 81 by Saturday morning, while the global figure is around 23,000 deaths from 540,000 cases, making it a real threat to the already quaking global and domestic economies.
Already, many central banks and governments are rolling out economic stimulus packages and measures to curtail the outbreak and mitigate the impacts of the virus on corporate organizations, businesses, and households.

The mixed macroeconomic indices emanating from National Bureau of Statistics and Central Bank of Nigeria are clear indications of an already challenging economy, with inflation rate already hitting a 22-month high of 12.2%, while the Purchasing Manager Index (PMI)for the month of March was at its lowest level of 31.1 points, from 58.3 points in the previous month. For fear that the virus may trigger a major economic crisis, the CBN’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), at its meeting on Monday and Tuesday, took note of the continued rise in domestic prices; the glut in oil supplies and low oil prices, in the wake of the global pandemic. Members also reviewed the exchange rate pressure and other domestic monetary and fiscal responses as they affect the evolving crisis. In view of these, the committee members unanimously voted to retain the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 13.5%, while holding all other policy parameters constant.

Investdata notes that the recent technical devaluation of the Naira, the lingering border closure and the impact of the global pandemic has reduced cross-border trading resulting in inflationary pressure on everything. This might lead to hyperinflation, meaning the temptation to hold cash, for anybody, is the worst for now.
The early evidence includes the low money market rates and declining yield in the fixed income market, just as the fear of the government’s ability to redeem its bonds at maturity, especially given the shaky revenue profile already noticed. The first place you look to preserve buying power is in stocks as a way of hedging against inflation.
The Minister for Finance, on Friday, re-echoed our position as she warned that Nigeria might go into another recession, should the Covid-19 pandemic continue beyond the next six months as government revenue is already struggling, especially as oil is selling below its new benchmark of $30 per barrel already.

We recall that in 2016 when the nation’s economy slipped into recession after 28 years, crude oil was selling for as low as between $23 and $26 per barrel. This low revenue and high debt profile is a threat to the fixed income market, especially FGN bonds.
Given the current market dynamics, Investdata believes that it will make more sense looking the way of valued stocks, all of which are now selling at discount to the book value. Should the virus hit the economy harder, throwing it into yet another recession, the government will begin to default on its debts, which is a more likely today, given the huge cost of debt servicing at about 50% of its earnings as of last year, unless some debt relief or moratorium by its creditors. It is clear that investors are more worried about the immediate economic impact than they are about fiscal mismanagement by Nigeria’s political leaders.

Movement Of NSEASI
The composite NSEASI, during the week under review, had a mixed trend of three trading sessions of marginally up, and two days of down market, closing the period lower, despite the seeming positive sentiments and breadth, as bargain hunting slowed down selloffs in different sectors.
Trading for the week started on a negative note, with the index losing all of 2.24%, followed b Tuesday’s mild recovery as the index gained 0.19%, which was halted at the midweek when the market fell marginally by 0.05%. This was not sustained on Thursday, as the NSE wiped off the previous day’s loss with its 0.13% gain on increase buying interests in financial service stocks which were sustained on Friday when the index chalked 0.48%, reducing the week’s loss to 1.52%, as against the previous week’s 2.35% decline.

Consequently, the All-Share Index lost 336.65basis points, after opening at 22,198.48bps, touching an intra-week low of 21,663.32bps from its high of 22,208.81bps on mixed sentiments, low traded volume on indecision among traders. The index closed the week at 21,861.78ps, after breaking down the 22,000 psychological line on a lower traded volume, when compared to the previous week. Market capitalization dropped by N174.82bn, closing at N11.39tr, from the opening value of N11.57tr, representing a 1.51 % value loss in a week when additional shares of Golden Guinea Breweries were listed. This was just as eTranzact announced a rights issue for N7bn from existing shareholders.
Last week also, trading was fully from remote platforms, as part of measures to curtail the spread of the deadly Coronavirus by the NSE management, just as few companies released their 2019 audited results with dividend announcements. The exchange equally announced an extension of the submission deadline for the 2019 audited financials by two months.

It was a mixed trading and bargain hunting as kobo stocks dominated the week’s advancers table, amidst the seeming improvements in buying interests in value stocks selling below their intrinsic worth during the period. This reflected in the market breadth as advancers outnumbered decliners in the ratio of 34:30, even as the impetus behind the week’s performance was weak, with Money Flow Index slipping to 32.34bps, compared to the 37.57bps of the previous week.
Transaction volume was low, indicating the wait-and-see attitude of market players, while discerning investors took advantage of the low prices in the midst of panic selling and confusion to reposition their portfolios, as earnings reporting season has been extended to May. The mixed sentiment during the period was confirmed by Investdata’s Sentiment Report for the week showing 36% ‘buy’ volume, and 64% ‘sell’ position, on a transaction volume index of 0.96.

Mixed Sectoral Indices
The sectoral indexes for the week were largely bearish, except for the NSE Insurance and Banking indexes which closed higher by 3.25% and 2.06% respectively, while the NSE Consumer Goods led the decliners after shedding 8.05%, followed by the NSE Oil/Gas and Industrial Goods that dropped by 2.21% and 0.52% respectively.

Market activities in terms of volume and value for the week, were down by 48.21% and 54.18% respectively, as investors traded 1.45bn shares worth N14.92bn, as against the previous week’s 2.8bn units valued at N32.56bn. Volume for the week was driven by trades in financial services stocks, especially Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, and FBNH.
Wapic Insurance and Cutix were the best-performing stocks for the week, as they topped the advancers chart, after gaining 23.81% and 20.69% respectively, closing at N0.26 and N1.40 per share on market forces and sentiments. On the flip side, Nigerian Breweries and Africa Prudential lost 15% and 11.17% respectively, closing at N25.50 and N3.42 per share on panic selloffs.

Market Outlook
We expect the mixed performance to continue depending on developments around the Covid 19 pandemic in the new week and implementation of the government’s economic stimulus packages to mitigate the effects of the virus. Already, we note that the manufacturing sector, among others in the economy, is already depressed by happening in the economy.

Also, don’t forget to play defensive stocks among the many fundamentally sound companies that remained depressed, making them attractive for bargain hunting by market players. This has also resulted in significant improvements in Dividend Yields of stocks, even as we note the fact that fund managers who held cash before now, may have to rethink the strategy and go for value stocks with high upside potentials.
This is just as more liquidity flow to high Dividend Yield stocks with sound fundamentals, a situation that will also be based on the seemingly positive outlook for the domestic economy, despite the mixed outlook for 2020 from various analysts.
While discerning investors should take advantage of the current low stocks valuation to position for the medium to long-term, it is noteworthy that the Nigerian equity market is selling at a discount and therefore offers high upside potential.

We should, however, not overlook the possibility of a bargain-hunting motive supporting positive performance, especially with many fundamentally sound stocks remaining underpriced. With a dividend yield of major blue-chips continuing to look attractive in recent weeks, we expect speculative trading to shape the market’s direction, despite the seeming mixed outlook.
Again, the current undervalued state of the market offers investors opportunities to position for the short to long-term, which is why investors should target fundamentally sound and dividend-paying stocks for possible capital appreciation in the New Year. This was noted in the 10 golden stocks and trading ideas for 2020, as discussed extensively during the Investdata 2020 Opportunities & Trade Ideas Summit.

https://investdata.com.ng/2020/03/mixed-sentiments-ahead-on-ngse-as-investors-review-devts-around-covid-19-pandemic/#more

For Value-Investors, Covid-19 Unleashes New Season Of Wealth Creation, Transfer On NGSE

The global pandemic, Coronavirus now popularly referred to as Covid-19, has virtually afflicted many stock markets and devastated economies across the globe, whether developed or developing.
However, this Covid-19 driven bear market has provided new opportunities for value investing among intelligent investors, which is as old as the stock market. Value investors look for juicy margins of safety in equity investment as a result of which they seek to buy value, while at the same time protecting their capital by avoiding poor decisions and market downturns. In summary, this is a situation when a stock is worth much more than its market value.

Before the onset of this ravaging virus, the global markets carried a positive momentum into the New Year, amidst trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies- the U.S and China, a situation that had dominated market trends for most of 2019, and eased, following the signing of phase one trade deal by both parties.
This was, nonetheless, short-lived following the spread of the Coronavirus from Wuhan in China to other countries beginning from the middle of January that saw markets tumbling, eroding early gains made earlier.
The commodities’ market was not left out, with the price of crude oil falling sharply and remaining depressed at around $26.35 per barrel on the expectation of lower demand after factories in China, the largest consumer began to shut down as a result of the ensuing lockdown. Also, the infectious disease gave way to concerns amongst global investors as appetite for risk declined, while they sought safe havens in instruments like government bonds.

The last week of February 2020 happened to coincide with one of the worst bear markets in stocks as shareholders worldwide lost an estimated US$6tr in market capitalization between just February 24 and 28, 2020, according to reports.
With the economic impact of the Coronavirus rising, global and country growth forecasts are being revised downwards with little optimism, given the shutdown of manufacturing factories and disruption in trade-flows around the world. Investors and businesses are urging policymakers to introduce or increase stimulus packages in the form of palliative measures to cushion the financial impact of the pandemic on businesses and households.
Uncertainties remain in the global economy even though market indexes’ showed a little recovery from last week, as investors see opportunities for long-term positioning on the expectation of positive market turnaround. This optimism is seen against the backdrop of a possible containment of Covid-19 to a large extent across the globe soon, followed by the resumption of full-scale economic activities, supported by fiscal stimulus and continued implementation of trade talks between the US and China.

Wealth Creation
Wealth creation through the stock market is more of an art, rather than a science. Anybody can create wealth by intelligently investing in equities through seeking to buy value at some discount that represents a high margin of safety that lowers your investment risk, despite the high risk associated with stock market investing.
In our drive to make money, many of us try to exchange time with money, forgetting that we only have a limited amount of time to generate wealth by investing our hard-earned income so as to attain our short-term goals. In the process, we often forget about long-term wealth creation investing, as Warren Buffet rightly said:” if you don’t find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die”.
Back home, the Nigerian Stock market, has over the years, created wealth for discerning investors who understand the dynamics of the equity market and its mantra of “buy low and sell high.”

It is obvious that before the ongoing global pandemic induced bear market, the Nigerian stock market had suffered many setbacks, at the least, since early last year, owing to factors such as uncertainties related to the 2019 general elections, especially the Presidential poll. Others included policy summersaults on the part of government, regulators, the lack of depth in the nation’s equity market, poor corporate governance, the urgent need for investor education, and low confidence level.
The Nigerian Stock Exchange’s All-Share index, which gives a general overview of the market performance, has so far taken a deep-dive, falling by 18.55% year-to-date, while market capitalization has lost almost 12.12%, closing at N11.39tr on March 27, 2020.
To put it in context, these economic indicators mirror business activities and company performances in the country.

Correspondingly, when the performance of the stock market is weak or poor, it means investors are losing value as the worth of quoted companies contract, given that the performance of any stock market is determined largely by the well-being of its quoted companies which are generally affected by cycles or disruptions in the economy.
Today, most companies whether global or domestic, are already feeling the impact of the coronavirus outbreak and this is one of the reasons for the decline in oil prices and stock market performance.

However, creation or transfer of wealth occurs at a time like this when the composite NSEASI is at its 11-year low, indicating that prices of most listed companies are coming cheap for wise investors to latch onto. This is considering that the Covid-19 driven down-market is a first of its kind and way different from the 2008/2009 global financial meltdown. It is, therefore, heartwarming that so much intervention is being packaged by the public and private sectors, in addition to measures already announced by central banks to curtail the spread and cushion the effect of the pandemic on the economy and some sector that are more exposed to the risk of the virus than others.

Other Factors
We recall that there are other factors that impacted the nation’s financial market, long before the onset of the outbreak, particularly the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directive restricting domestic investors (whether institutional or retail) from participating in its Open Market Operations (OMO), in the fixed income market.
This led to the subsequent crash in rates across fixed income instruments leading to the continuous drop in treasury bills, with the 91-day, 182-day and 364-day rates tanking to as low as 2.49%, 3.78%, and 5.3% respectively. Similarly, bond rates have fallen as of the last Federal Government Bond auction which settled at 9.85%, 11.125% and 12.56% for the five-year, 10-year, and 30-year maturities respectively, thus limiting investors’ investable options for short-dated instruments.

With Nigeria’s inflation rate currently above returns on investment, investors are earning negative real returns on their fixed-income investments.
Following the developments in the fixed income market in Q4 2019, the equities market got a boost from the situation as investors diverted their funds to the stock market in search of higher yields.
Consequently, the Nigerian bourse witnessed positive price movements leading to a bull-run throughout January 2020, after which it closed with a 7.46% month-on-month growth in the All-Share Index, while market capitalisation recorded 10.38% return.
The tea-party could not be sustained, in the month of February as sell-off began, with investors harvesting profits on positions held since 2019 through January 2020. There was also investor reactions to the CBN’s decision to adjust Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) at its January meeting of its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which investors were still grappling with before the market was further hit by Covid-19 impact, pushing the year-to-date loss to 18.55% as mentioned earlier.

Valuations have become cheap with average Price Earnings Ratio of the Nigerian stock market at around 6.12x, well below its peers in frontier and emerging markets which shows that Nigerian stocks are trading at a great discount. We expect policy changes in the fixed income market, particularly the FGN bonds, given the government’s shaky revenue profile due to the low oil price that has forced a N1.5tr cut in the 2020 capital spending plan.
This may, however, offer some respite to the equities market prompting a stable rally from the over N2tr maturing fixed-income investments in 2020, as investors look for an asset class capable of offering a positive real rate of return to deploy their funds into. Only the stock market can offer such positive real returns desired by investors, and we expect to see long-term bargain hunters taking opportunities of high yields and low valuation.
We advise investors to start accumulating on fundamentally strong stocks whose valuations have fallen so cheap and hold in anticipation of a market recovery in the long term as the Nigerian market remains one of the most attractive in emerging markets.

KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Stock prices to oscillate in Q2 on fear of panic selling and the challenging economic situation.
• NSE-listed companies will see no earnings growth in 2020.
• Investdata expects the NSE’s benchmark index to slide farther down, but recover by year-end.
• We recommend that investors should look the way of defensive stocks and sectors that will be favoured by the CBN interventions.

For information about quality stocks to invest in and make more than 40% return in 364 days, contact:

Ambrose Omordion
CRO|Investdata Consulting Ltd
info@investdataonline.com
info@investdata.com.ng
ambrose.o@investdataonline.com
ambroseconsultants@yahoo.com
Tel: 08028164085, 08032055467

https://investdata.com.ng/2020/03/for-value-investors-covid-19-unleashes-new-season-of-wealth-creation-transfer-on-ngse/#more

Huge Price Decline In March Creates Further “Buy” Opportunity For Investors On NGSE

March Market Roundup And Outlook For April
Equity prices had a free fall for the month of March on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), reflecting the weak actions and uncertainties across global markets as crude oil prices collapsed helplessly, touching a new 18-year low on March 30. It, however, rebounded on the last day of the month on the news that the US and Russia are discussing the impact of the ravaging Coronavirus pandemic and the global lockdown on the price of crude oil, as it closed $21.67 per barrel.
The Covid-19 storm has wrecked many stock markets and economies the world over quicker than was seen during the global financial crisis of 2008/2009.

The negative sentiment that hit the Nigerian stock market over the last two months of the 2929 first quarter ranged from an adjustment in the Cash Reserve Requirement of banks to 27.5% by the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as well as the weak macroeconomic indices. The impact of these factors was made worse by panic measures that accompanied Covid-19, which has so far recorded over 787,000 cases and 34,000 deaths globally, as factories shut down, among measures to check the spread.
Nigeria has also recorded a daily increase in the number of new cases to 139 and two deaths since February when the index case of the virus was recorded in the country.
Fears arising from the pandemic have seen capital flight from the emerging and frontier markets, due to the imminent global recession, as the benchmark indexes of many stock markets suffered declines of over 20% since February. In the case of the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE), its composite All-Share index has suffered a monthly and quarterly decline of 18.75% and 20.65% respectively, confirming the bear-run in the market. The good thing, however, is that has created a “buy” opportunity for discerning and intelligent investors.

The market’s reaction to the seemingly high dividend payout and yield in the midst of mixed earnings reports by most companies that reflects the weak economic fundamentals and realities of the 2019 financial year, being an election year was poor as smart money took to flight due to panic selloffs resulting from the virus-induced bear market. This was reflected in the Money Flow Index that pointed downward throughout the month under review as the NSEASI broke down five psychological lines between 26,000 and 22,000 on continued selloffs.
Besides the low investor confidence, there is also a lack of an economic direction, as investors await the government’s economic policy and the reforms needed to stimulate growth and complement the CBN’s unconventional monetary policies before the deadly virus hit the world and the nation.

The mismatch of policies of the government and its economic managers since Q3 of 2019 has continually weakened the macroeconomic indicators inflation and Purchasing Manager’s Index (PM1) as the February inflation rate rose to its 23-month high of 12.2% from12.13% in January. This was just as the manufacturing sector recorded the slowest expansion in the month of March as Purchasing Managers Index stood at 51.1points, from 58.3 points in February.
The market extended its negative sentiment from February, as the NSE’s composite index fell by 18.75% in March, after 13 sessions of the bear market and nine up sessions. The period witnessed mixed trades and trend despite being the peak month of the earnings reporting season before the deadline was extended by 60 days, due to the effects of Covid-19. The pandemic also resulted in the NSE management activating the first level of its business continuity plan leading to a shutdown of the trading flow, allowing for only remote access to curtail. The bourse has also moved on to the second leg of its business continuity plan by moving essential staff nearby to ensure the market remains open during the period of the lockdown announced by President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday night (READ MORE).

Within the month under review also, 32 companies released their full-year 2019 audited results, while 20 rewarded their shareholders with offers of dividend payment. Three companies- Vitafoam Nigeria, Zenith Bank, and Guaranty Trust Bank paid their dividend on their stipulated dates, just as Guaranty Trust Bank has become the first company in Nigeria to hold its Annual General Meeting virtually, and paid the dividend accordingly.
The boards of eight companies: United Bank for Africa, United capital, Africa Prudential, Transnational Corporation of Nigeria, African Prudential, Transcorp Hotel, and Morison Industries, however, postponed their AGM and dividend payment to their investors, due to Covid-19 fallout.
On Tuesday, the last trading day of the month, the NSE index closed negative at 21,300.47 basis points.
During the month, the index touched an intra-month peak of 26,626.07 basis points and low of 21,270.26bps, after opening at 26,216.46bps on a huge traded volume, compared to the previous month.

Also, market capitalisation for the period closed at N11.10tr from N13.66tr, representing an 18.74% decline, helped by the listing of additional shares in favour of Golden Guinea Breweries within the month.
Market technicals for the month were negative and mixed, with volume traded higher than that of February in the midst of negative breadth and high selling pressure, as revealed by Investdata’s monthly Sentiment Report, showing sell position of 99% and buy volume at 1%. The monthly total transaction volume index was 1.50, just as momentum behind the market’s performance for the month was weak as shown by the money flow index at 37.71points, from the previous month’s 37.78ps. This is an indication that funds left the market, following the persistent selloff in midst of fewer 2019 earnings reported and fear of Covid 19 impact on the stock market and economy.
Market breadth for the month was negative and weak as decliners outnumbered advancers in the ratio of 57:15. Transaction volume for the period increased by 94.67% at 10.96bn shares, compared to the 5.63bn units that changed hands in February.

Sectoral Performance
All the sectoral indices for the period closed in red, except for the NSE Insurance that rose by 2.67%, while the worst hit was the Consumer Goods index which lost 28.93%.


Best Performing Stock
The panic selloffs amidst the poor reactions to corporate earnings released reflected in the number of stocks that appreciated in value, with the best-performing stocks at over 20% gain for the month being low cap stocks like Union Diagnostic and NPF Microfinance which gained 30% and 21.05% respectively on market forces. They were followed by 11 Plc that gained 20.80% on expectation of 2019 results and dividend; ahead of Eterna’s 20.10% on its low price attractive despite its unimpressive scorecard. See the table below for more.
We advise investors take advantage of the high yields in the market to position in fundamentally sound stocks, ahead of the 2020 first-quarter numbers expected to hit the exchange in April, irrespective of the current happening in the market.


Worst Laggards
Lafarge Africa was the worst laggard, shedding 40.65% in a month when the virus-driven bear market hit the company share price ahead of it full result followed by Zenith Bank’s 36.76% slide on price adjustment for dividend and bearish trend, while Nigerian Breweries lost 36.67% of its opening price during the period.


Technical View
The composite NSEASI in January attempted to break out the downtrend line on a high buying interest but pulled back in February and March on high traded volume and negative sentiments due to noticeable indecision and persistent selloffs among market players. There was also the effect of the prevailing low confidence and liquidity as reflected in the money flow index at 37.71 points, down from 37.78points in the prior month.
Meanwhile, the NSE index continues to trade below all the shortest Moving Average on a monthly time frame, while MACD remains bearish.
With the extended submission of 2019 full year audited financials by two months and expected 2020 first-quarter earnings reports in the new month, as companies had started notifying the exchange of their closed period. Portfolio repositioning and rebalancing among traders and investors are expected but the 14-day lockdown of Lagos State and the ongoing remote trading may affect volume traded and the rate at which investors take advantage of the low prices. Also analyzing the numbers released so far in expectation of 2020Q1 numbers will give an insight into what to expect from the companies in the cause of 2020 and beyond.

Expectations For April/May
The 14-day lockdown is likely to influence the market negatively, knowing that the month of April is an extension of the earnings reporting season due to expected quarterly results now that NSE has given 60 days grace to submit 2019 full-year results. This is why traders and investors should be in the market to benefit from the corporate actions already pouring in.
Know that the earnings season momentum, as well as liquidity, determine market movement/direction, as such, we should expect:
• Macro-economic data to drive investment decisions and know the economic state of the nation.
• Market oscillation due to panic selloffs and position-taking with some corporate results released.
• The gradual inflow of funds into the equity market, as a reaction to low equity prices and low rate in the money market, besides the fluctuations as foreign and institutional investors return or exit the market. This oscillation is expected to create entry and exit opportunities.
• More full-year and quarterly results are expected since the 2019 full-year audited earnings filings are extended. These earnings from blue-chip companies are likely to strengthen fundamentals, depending on the quality and value of their numbers. But due to economic slowdown in Q1 2020, we do not expect much from the quoted companies
• As investors reshuffle their portfolios to move into equities with strong fundamentals, high Dividend Yield, and possible bonus issues, we should expect stock prices to gravitate upward or down, if their numbers beat expectations.
• Expect the current volatility to continue into the last month of 2020Q2, amidst repositioning for Q3, even as we expect confidence and liquidity to improve.
• Market outlook for the month of April and May remains unstable and mixed, but investors should invest wisely, using dates, bids, offers, and volume when taking an investment decision.
• Managing risk and protecting capital at this point is very important, as it will help determine when to buy or sell, by watching the stocks and the market, using technical analysis, aided by investdata buy & sell signal for weekly traders and medium/long term investors.
• Let numbers emanating from companies and the markdown dates guide you into a profitable investment.

https://investdata.com.ng/2020/04/huge-price-decline-in-march-creates-further-buy-opportunity-for-investors-on-ngse/#more

Zenith Bank Leads NGSE In High Margin Of Safety, Upside Potential For Investment Goal

The coronavirus global pandemic has virtually killed many stock markets and devastated economies of the world, whether developed or developing.
This covid-19 driven bear market has provided investing and trading opportunities for intelligent investors.
Value investing is as old at the stock market, just as the margin of safety in equity investment helps investors to buy value, while at the same time protecting themselves from their poor judgment and market downturns, a situation when the intrinsic value stock is higher than market price. This is the tenets of value investing, of which capital preservation is the first rule, suggesting that investors should look out for companies with low Price-Earnings and Price-Book ratios.

Here, investors should analyze a company’s financial statement and the accompanying footnotes and identify if there are hidden values or assets with potentials that are unknown to the market, and which when noticed will attract attention.
The simple interpretation of ‘Margin of Safety’ is buying a stock selling at a discounted price, or below its book or intrinsic value. Every investor wants to buy cheap stocks with value and potential to appreciate, or in more practical terms- paying kobo for a Naira value. Traders want to buy low and sell high by speculating, which is part and parcel of every stock market at any given time.
Look at the table above. An analysis of the 10 most capitalized stocks on the Nigerian Stock Exchange reveals the undervalued state of these companies at this time and the fact that they are selling at a discount. They are also backed by strong fundamentals and good prospects, knowing that the present economic situation will not last for too long.

From the above table, Zenith Bank appears to be the cheapest stock, as it offers the highest margin of safety, from its Price to Book ratio of 0.39x and Price to Earnings ratio of 1.78x, which shows that it is that stock with the shortest time within which investors can recoup their investment. This bank is the market’s most profitable, has the largest shareholders’ funds, and recorded the Highest Dividend Yield in the market at 23.62%, while Earnings Yield stood at 56.13% as at close of trading on Friday, March 20, 2020.
Other equities selling at a huge discount to the market price on the table are Seplat Petroleum Development Company and Guaranty Trust Bank with Price to Book positions of 0.59x and 0.79x respectively.
See the above table for more details.

Definitions: D/Yield =Dividend Yield; E/Yield =Earnings Yield; BV= Book Value; P/Book=Price to book; ROE = Return on Equity

https://investdata.com.ng/2020/04/zenith-bank-leads-ngse-in-high-margin-of-safety-upside-potential-for-investment-goal/