The bulls dominated January as the end-of-year market rally of 2023 flowed into the month. For context, the NGX-ASI appreciated by 35.3%, with the benchmark index crossing over to new historical highs and settling at 101,154.67 points. Increased demand was seen in top tickers such as DANGCEM (+138.5%), BUACEMENT (+90.7%), BUAFOODS (+40.5%), GEREGU (+42.4%), and SEPLAT (+33.1%). Thus, market capitalisation appreciated by N14.44 trillion to N55.36 trillion.
The industrial index (+107.9%) led sectoral gains on the back of strong demand in DANGCEM (+138.5%), which was fueled by Femi Otedola's significant purchase of the stock. The Consumer Goods index (+24.3%) came in second, supported by appreciation in BUAFOODS (+40.5%) and DANGSUGAR (+19.1%), while the Insurance (+21.7%) and Oil and Gas (+20.0%) indices followed through owing to demand in AIICO (+35.0%), and SEPLAT (+33.1%) respectively. For SEPLAT, the counter witnessed significant demand after it concluded its investor breakfast meeting, where the company highlighted the progress of the Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU) acquisition from ExxonMobil, which still awaits government approvals, and the ANOH gas plant mechanisation, which was concluded in January. On the flip side, a negative return was seen in the Banking index (-3.4%) as selloffs were dominant in ZENITHBANK (-9.2%), GTCO (-8.6%), and FBNH (-7.9%).
Elsewhere, in January, FBNH, FIDELITYBK, STANBIC, FLOURMILLS, GUINNESS, and TOTAL released their unaudited financial statements. The banking tickers (FBNH, FIDELITYBK, and STANBIC) reported an overall increase in their FY'23 earnings due to higher interest and non-interest revenue, whereas the consumer goods tickers (FLOURMILLS and GUINNESS) suffered from foreign exchange revaluation losses, which significantly reduced net profit despite improved topline. Similarly, TOTAL reported a decline in earnings, driven primarily by net foreign exchange losses and a surge in net interest expense for the period.
