By Nkiruka Nnorom

THE equities market may witness a mixture of bargain hunting and sell pressure this week with bears set to dominate the market yet again, capital market operators have said.

The operators, however, said that the release of 2018 financial results, which has already started coming in, would dampen the sell-offs, resulting in a mixed sentiment.

Bearish sentiments last week dragged the benchmark All Share Index, ASI, down by 2.4 percent to settle at 31,142.72 points as the index posted losses on four of the five trading days despite positive earnings releases by some listed companies.

Also, the market capitalisation dropped by N291.5 billion to close at N11.6 trillion.

The floor of Stock exchange

Commenting the outlook for the week’s session’s, analysts at Afrinvest Securities said: “Consequent on the losses recorded on four trading sessions during the week, we expect to see some bargain hunting in early trades next week, supported by positive earnings release on some counters. Nonetheless, given the paucity of foreign portfolio participation in the local bourse, we anticipate that the lingering bearish sentiments would drive a negative close.”

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Similarly, analysts at Vetiva Capital said: “Despite a few positive earnings releases, the market sustained its negative performance. Although, we foresee bearish sentiment continuing next week, we expect the sell-offs to ease off leading to a mixed week.”

However, Cowry Asset Management expects the market to close marginally up as investors take advantage of low prices, positive corporate earnings and dividend pay-out.