Dear Afrinvestor,

Market Statistics (Friday, 12^th October, 2012)

Market Cap (N'bn)		8,695.11
Market Cap (US$'bn)		55.25
NSE All-Share Index		27,287.85
Daily Performance %		(0.30)
1 Week Performance %		3.20
YTD Performance %		31.63
Daily Volume (Million)		516.17
Daily Value (N'bn)		3.88
Daily Value (US$'m)		24.67

Dealer’s Perception

·         The market went south today as the NSE All-Share index dipped by 30 bps.

·         Sentiments were skewed predominantly to the sell side during the day’s proceedings, leading to more losses at the close of the session. Participants seeking to lock in gains from the nascent rally of Diamond Bank trimmed off 2.4% from its price. Pockets of selling early in the session also attempted to halt the rally on Skye Bank however growing demand led to a further 4.9% mark-up.

·         Selling pressure sent Dangote Sugar south, recording a 9.3% loss with sentiments that could lead to further losses early next week, Nascon and Flour Mills were not spared either with losses of 2.9% and 0.4% respectively, Cadbury however hovered around its current peak of N30.00 with most trades executed at this level and consequently recording no change at the close of the session.

·         In the breweries sector, NB and Guinness were up by less than 1.0% at the close of proceedings. Buyers were unwilling to pay above N142.00 for NB while Guinness hovered around the upper N281.00 mark. International Breweries however lost 3.6% at the close of the session.

Weekly Trading Summary

·         The NSE All-Share Index gained 320bps this week

·         The banking sector was bullish this week with buy side activities leading to a surge in the prices of most companies in the sector; at the top of the list were Diamond Bank, Sterling Bank, Fidelity Bank and Skye Bank with points in excess of 20.0% apiece.  Top –tier banks recorded slimmer gains ranging from 1.7% (GTBank) to 17.0% (UBA).

·         The building materials sector was also in line with market trend as Ashaka Cement and CCNN both recorded gains of 16.4% and 30.0% this week; a possible correction could however occur early next week. Lafarge Wapco also recorded a 2.2% appreciation.

·         In the Conglomerates sector, A.G. Leventis, Unilever and UACN were up this week. On the flip side, Transcorp struggled subsequently shedding 0.9% while PZ Cussons also lost 2.9%.