Last week, the performance of the domestic equities market was bullish as the benchmark index closed in the green on all 3 trading sessions. Consequently, the All Share Index (ASI) rose by 1.9% w/w to settle at 38,667.9 points while YTD loss improved to -4.0%. Market capitalisation increased by ₦375.5bn in value to close at ₦20.1tn.
The second half of 2021 is expected to bring some cheer to macro watchers globally, with the most robust growth projected for Emerging Markets and Advanced Economies. Sub-Saharan African Economies may have to make do with milder out-turns, given the reality of their low fiscal & monetary bandwidths and lingering regulatory-cum structural impasses. Yet, base effects could instigate the most significant macro bounces across these markets in years. In our view, Nigeria could record its paciest GDP growth in over 32 quarters in Q2'21, with construction, trade, manufacturing, real estate, and crude petroleum & natural gas moving from pull to push sectors on the impact of their low bases. ...
2021 was tagged the year of return to normalcy, and we highlighted that growth across countries would remain uneven due to differing wealth of nations. Large swathes of that forecast have proven to be right. The forecast that more affluent countries would recover stronger from the pandemic never appeared more accurate, thanks to the combination of accommodative fiscal and monetary policies. Although the global economy’s outlook appears greener, global expansion remains heavily dependent on successfully overcoming the Covid-19 health crisis, as the virus remains a threat. As of the time of writing, there have been 169,597,415 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 3,530,582 deaths, as reported by the World Health Organisation (WHO). A 3rd wave of the pandemic, led by a new, more-infectious “Delta” variant, has emerged in various pockets of the globe, prompting the reintroduction of lockdowns. Furthermore, while the vaccination story has been largely positive, vaccination rates remain broadly uneven across regions. Despite 3.6 billion vaccine doses administered globally, only one in ten people in lower-income countries have received at least a dose of the vaccine.
The local bourse declined to end the week on a negative tone, posting a weekly loss of 0.1% in a tight trading week, even as the earnings season kicked off on a positive note. The benchmark All Share Index (ASI) closed at 37,947.2 points as YTD loss worsened to 5.8%, and market capitalisation fell by N24.5bn w/w to settled at N19.7tn. In terms of activity, average volume and value traded decreased by 16.6% and 19.2% w/w, respectively, to 201.7m shares and N2.2bn.
The global economy is projected to rebound by 6.0% in 2021, supported by the continued covid-19 vaccine rollout and dovish monetary stance. However, supply chain pressures, rising commodity prices and rapid domestic demand in major economies have intensified global inflation pressures.
The Nigerian Equities Market continued its downtrend into Q2 2021, as the NSE ASI declined further, down 2.91% to 37,907.28pts. As of the end of June 2021, the NGSE ASI index was down 5.87%. The bearish trend in H1 was driven largely by losses in the Industrials -8.02%, and Banks -6.76%. On the flipside, the Oil & Gas, Insurance, and the Consumer goods sectors were up 38.41%, 7.57% and 4.80% respectively in the period. Daily average value declined by...
