In
the eight months to September 4, 2014, investors in Stanbic IBTC Holdings plc
achieved the largest chunk of share price growth ahead of other banking stocks,
followed by Guaranty Trust Bank plc, FCMB Group plc, and Ecobank Transnational
Incorporated plc, BusinessDay trend watch can disclose.
Between
January 3 and September 4, Stanbic IBTC plc led the basket of banking stocks
after its share price rose by N8, from N21.6 to N30.40; followed by Guaranty
Trust Bank plc which rallied by N0.43, from N28.88 to N29.31. FCMB plc
appreciated from N3.9 to N4.24, adding N0.34; while Ecobank Transnational
Incorporated plc gained N0.01, from N17 to N17.01.
While
narrowing risk spectrum in the fixed income securities is said to contribute in
making equities unattractive to investors, investment analysts continue to
link
investors’ decisions to offload stocks to their weighing of possible impact on
the market of the recent increasing risks relating to upcoming 2015 elections,
insecurity in the northern part of the country which affects companies’
(particularly consumer goods) earnings, and most recently the outbreak of the
Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) which is hampering economic activities in major
cities.
Among
other subsectors at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), banking stocks are one
of the most affected by the illiquidity that trailed Nigerian equities, causing
the market to stumble further.
Looking
at the basket, mostly affected are equities prices of United Bank for Africa
(UBA) plc, Union Bank plc, Skye Bank plc, FBN Holdings plc, Diamond Bank plc,
Sterling Bank plc, Zenith Bank plc, Access Bank plc, and Wema Bank plc.
The
share price of United Bank for Africa plc recorded an eight-month loss of
N2.13, from a record high of N9.38 as at January 3, 2014 to N7.25; followed by
that of Union Bank plc, which declined by N1.84, from N10 to N8.16; while Skye
Bank plc lost N1.78, from a high of N2.50 to N2.18.
FBN
Holdings plc also joined the laggards after its share price lost N1.79 in eight
months, from N16.29 to N14.5; Diamond Bank plc lost N1.45, from N7.56 to N6.11;
Sterling Bank plc declined by N0.32, from N2.50 to N2.18; Zenith Bank plc lost
N0.9, from N25.10 to N24.20; Access Bank plc dipped from N9.70 to N9.27, losing
N0.43; Wema Bank plc depreciated by N0.39, from N1.3 to N0.91; while the share
price of Unity Bank plc remained flat N0.5.
BusinessDay
trend watch from January 3, 2014 to September 4, 2014 shows that the market
declined by 1.04 percent. The stock market opened the review period with
benchmark index of 41,450.48 points, losing 432.99 points to 41,017.49 points;
while the value of equities listed on the main board of the stock market rose from
N13.270 trillion to N13.543 trillion.
Also
helping to fuel investors’ decisions out of equities were the disappointing
half-year (H1) earnings released by most companies, which dimmed investors’
hope on expected corporate actions.
Recently,
foreign investors that control a large chunk of trading on the local bourse
began to take flight to safety, evidenced in foreign investors’ ceding of a
reasonable percentage of their holding in Nigeria’s equities to retail and
institutional domestic investors.
Data
at the NSE shows that domestic participation at the nation’s bourse increased
to N167.77 billion (about $1.08 billion) in July 2014, up 81.77 percent from
January 2014.
Foreign
Portfolio Investors (FPI) ceded about 49.66 percent of trading to domestic investors
as foreign transactions decreased significantly, from 49.28 percent to 25.17
percent, over the same period.
Total
transactions increased by 23.20 percent, from N181.97 billion in January to
N224.19 billion in July, and FPI inflows accounted for 14.58 percent of total
transactions, while the outflows accounted for 10.59 percent of the total
transactions in July 2014.
BusinessDay
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