Buying interest lift index 0.73 %

By Peter Egwuatu

Portfolio rebalancing by investors trailed the equities market last week as buying interest in Banking and Consumer Goods stocks lift the All Share Index above the 50,000 psychological mark, advancing by 0.73 % to close at 50,045.83 points from 49,682.15 per cent penultimate week.

Consequently, investors gained over N197 billion Week-on-Week, W-o-W, with market capitalisation closing up at N26.993 trillion from N26.796 trillion previous week.

The mixed sentiment and demand for blue chip stocks helped the benchmark index to close higher, regardless of the fact that interim dividend paying banks had informed investors of delay in the release of their half-year earnings before the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The positive outing was underpinned by investors’ interest in Guinness Nigeria which rose by 9.9%, Stanbic IBTC 8.2%,  Access Holdings  6.1% , Wapco 4.6%,  BUA Foods 4.5% and BUA Cement 2.7%.

The Month-to-Date, MtD, return went up by 0.4%, while the  Year-to-Date, YtD, return increased to 17.2%. Activity levels were mixed, as trading volume increased by 30.7% W-o-W, while trading value declined by 15.3%  W-o-W. Sectoral performance was largely bullish as the Consumer Goods Index garnered 2.0% , Industrial Goods Index 1.4% , Banking Index 1.2% and Oil & Gas Index 0.6%

Analysts at Cordors Research stated: “We expect alpha-seeking investors to continue to seek trading opportunities in stocks of companies that delivered impressive earnings during the Q2-22 earnings season amid the yield uptick in the FI market. However, we think the absence of a near-term catalyst will likely skew overall market sentiments to the negative side, particularly as the political space gets heated. Notwithstanding, we reiterate the need for positioning in only fundamentally sound stocks as the unimpressive macro environment remains a significant headwind for corporate earnings.

Reacting on market development, analysts at InvestData Consulting stated: “That notwithstanding, Fidelity Bank’s entry into the interim dividend ring with its 10 kobo per share offer, amidst its impressive half-year numbers, and the fact that the bank is expanding its operations with the planned 100% acquisition of Union Bank UK Plc is noteworthy for the market at a time like this. The offer of interim dividend by Fidelity Bank, after a previous attempt that was truncated by the CBN some years ago, is indicative of what to expect from its peers, both at half and full-year. We note also that the recent decision by the CBN to hike interest rate on savings accounts to 30% of  Monetary Policy Rate, MPR, after a back-to-back hike in MPR is expected to boost the performance of banks, while raising cost of funds, in spite of which net interest income of banks is expected to improve.”

Sterling Bank introduces virtual cards for OneBank customers

Sterling Bank Plc, has introduced virtual cards for existing and prospective OneBank customers free of charge to enable them to make easy and fast local or international payments on sites like Netflix and Apple as well as shop on sites like Amazon, among others.

Chief Digital Officer with Sterling Bank, Mr. Olayinka Oni, who disclosed this in a statement issued by the bank , said the service is open to all registered and new customers of OneBank and available on the OneBank app.

He advised new customers to open an account by downloading the app on the iOS store or Andriod play store to create their virtual cards.

According to Oni, Sterling Bank launched OneBank in 2019 as a fully digital banking solution. He explained that the solution offers the customer the ability to register and bank instantly, adding that the solution also allows the customer to make payments, invest and borrow money.

He said that with OneBank, customers could carry out all banking services without entering a branch. He can self-onboard, enter his BVN, upload his documents, and start transacting without entering any Sterling bank branch.

Customers using OneBank can experience the ease of starting an investment plan, applying for a loan, and transferring forex, as well as enjoy a dynamic news feed, scroll through forex updates, and many other features, he added.