#EndSARS: Nigerian stocks end neutral amid protests

The Nigerian bourse closed flat today as the All Share Index remained at 28,344.33 points for the second consecutive trading.

A total volume of 342.1 million units of shares, valued at N5.03billion exchanged hands in 4,048 deals.

• UBA was the most traded shares by volume at 92.8million units, while GUARANTY and ZENITHBANK topped the market value list at N1.84billion and N1.34billion respectively.
• The market breadth index was positive with 13 gainers against 11 losers. ETERNA (+9.98%) led the gainer’s chart today, while GLAXOSMITH (-3.45%) topped the laggards.
• NSE Banking Index: Down by -0.74%, due to sell-offs in GUARANTY (-1.67%), ACCESS (-1.27%), and ETI (-1.15%).
• NSE Insurance Index: Depreciated by -0.45%, on price depreciation in AIICO (-3.57%).
• NSE Oil & Gas Index: Fell by -0.29%.
• NSE Consumer Goods Index: Up by +0.40% on buy-interests in GUINNESS (+3.23%), INTBREW (+3.19%), and PZ (+2.38%).
• NSE Industrial Index: Improved by +0.30%, on the back of price appreciation recorded in WAPCO (+4.03%).

Top gainers
ETERNA up 9.98% to close at N5.29
WAPCO up 4.03% to close at N18.05
GUINNESS up 3.23% to close at N16
INTBREW up 3.19% to close at N4.85
VITAFOAM up 1.67% to close at N6.1

Top Losers
GLAXOSMITH down 3.45% to close at N5.6
FIDSON down 3.00% to close at N3.56
AFRIPRUD down 2.81% to close at N5.54
GUARANTY down 1.67% to close at N29.5
ACCESS down 1.27% to close at N7.75

What this means
Nigerian bourse ended the trading session neutral for 2 consecutive days, following oil prices and the U.S dollar rebounding up.

• Unsurprisingly, trading activities were dampened amid the prevailing macro, showing that the protests for Nigerian police reforms by Nigerian youths have entered a critical phase.
• The inflation rate surged to 13.71% (year-on-year) in September 2020, indicating a 0.49% point difference when compared to 13.22% recorded in August 2020. This weakened buying pressure in financial-based stocks.
• Also, some leading western nations are beginning to report higher cases of COVID-19 infections, fueling serious speculations of imminent lockdown. This has dampened the resolve that global investors would increase their buying pressure at the biggest exchange of sub-Saharan Africa and weakened traders’ morale on Thursday.