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NSE ASI swings into the red, down 10bps

What shaped the market today?

• The NSE ASI swung back into negative territory, shedding 10bps amidst mixed performances across key sectors. Global markets traded mixed after minutes of the U.S. Fed meeting strengthened expectations of a rate hike in December. Following this, the dollar rallied, spurring the Nikkei to a higher close as Japanese export stocks rose on the back of a relatively weaker yen.
• The Financial Services sector closed 15bps higher as advances in GUARANTY (99bps), FCMB (+194bps) and FBNH (+167bps) were trimmed by declines in STANBIC (-194bps) and ZENITHBANK (-113bps). The Consumer Goods sector retreated into the red as weightier losses in INTERBREW (-410bps) and NB (-23bps) eclipsed gains in FLOURMILL (+400bps) and DANGSUGAR (+17bps). Whilst the Industrial Goods sector closed flat, the Oil & Gas sector (-140bps) dipped further in the red, stretching its bearish run to nine consecutive sessions after a rout in TOTAL (-898bps) upturned an advance in MOBIL (+205bps).
• Market breadth remained positive with 16 advances and 13 declines.

What will shape the next trading session?

• Whilst we observed pockets of bargain hunting, particularly for banking names, we highlight that the broad market sentiment remains weak (evidenced by persistently low volumes). Thus, we expect today’s mixed trading pattern to persist at week close albeit with a slight bearish bias.