By Peter Egwuatu

Investors in the equities market on the Nigerian Exchange Limited, NGX, have gained N3.247 trillion Year-to-Date, Ytd.

The capital gains in February was N419 billion despite the Ukraine-Russia crises which had forced losses in equities across economies.

The market capitalisation which represents the total value of investment on the Exchange closed the month at N25.543 trillion from N25.124 trillion at the close of trading in January.

In the same vein, another major stock market performance indicator, NGX All Share Index, ASI, rose by 1.7 per cent to closed the month of February at 47.394.53 points from 46.624.67 points at the end of January.

Meanwhile,    trading in the equities market opened on Monday    with a bullish performance as bargain buying activities on    Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, ETI    gained 5.3 per cent , WAPCO 2.5 per cent    which triggered a 0.1% gain in the ASI .

The total volume traded yesterday increased by 18.7 per cent    to 300.76 million units, valued atN2.77 billion, and exchanged in 5,434 deals. FCMB was the most traded stock by volume at 104.41 million units, while Zenith Bank was the most traded stock by value at N419.42 million.

Performance across sectors was broadly positive, as the Insurance (+1.0%), Banking (+0.6%), Consumer Goods (+0.3%), and Industrial Goods (+0.2%) indices advanced while the Oil & Gas (-0.2%) index was the sole loser of the day.

Reacting, analysts at Afrinvest Research    in their    outlook for 2022 released yesterday stated: “NGX ASI remains relatively undervalued and attractive as average market earnings (EPS) grew faster (54.7%) Year on Year,y/y) than equities prices.   

“Excluding Russia (10.9x), the local bourse is the most  undervalued market when compared to the MSCI Frontier index (15.0x) and the BRICS peers. “Going into 2022, we expect performance to be shaped by a mix of factors – global and local interest rate direction, corporate earnings,    Fixed Income, FI yield environment, Covid-19 headlines, and political uncertainties ahead of the 2023 general elections.”