. As indices rise by N18b amid gains in Unilever, 21 stocks
Standard Chartered Bank has predicted that Africa’s total exports will reach $952 billion by 2035.
In its report: ‘Future of Trade: Africa,’ which highlighted the outlook for African trade and provided a view of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a key proponent of optimising intra-African trade, also stated that AfCFTA, once fully implemented, has the potential to increase this figure by a further 29 per cent.
According to the bank, this represents a yearly growth rate of three per cent from now till 2035. The report also stressed that rising regional trade levels and greater connectivity will unlock high‑growth corridors across Africa and beyond.
“Intra-Africa trade is expected to reach $140 billion by 2035, equating to 15 per cent of Africa’s total exports. Africa’s corridors with some of the world’s most dynamic regions will grow faster than the global average of 4.3 per cent.”
It further stated that the East Africa-South Asia corridor is expected to emerge as the fastest growing major corridor at 7.1 per cent per year through to 2035. “The Middle East-North Africa and the Middle East-East Africa corridors will also be substantial, with their combined trade volume expected to reach almost $200 billion by 2035.
“The AfCFTA is not the first attempt made by Africa’s markets to promote greater cohesion, but the existing agreements often have overlapping or contradicting objectives creating a ‘spaghetti bowl effect’,” it added.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian stock market yesterday sustained its positive performance as the overall capitalisation rose by N18 billion, amid gains in Unilever Nigeria Plc and 21 others.
The All-Share Index (ASI) gained 32.70 points, representing a gain of 0.05 per cent to close at 67,133.19 points. Also, market capitalisation rose by N18 billion to close at N36.883 trillion.
The upturn was driven by price appreciation in large and medium capitalised stocks amongst which are; Unilever Nigeria, Africa Prudential, Zenith Bank, NASCON Allied Industries and United Bank for Africa (UBA).
Reacting to the market performance, analysts at Afrinvest Limited, said: “We anticipate profit taking to drag performance.”
On its path, SCM Capital Research,said: “Market sentiments is predicted to remain mixed in the coming week as investors look for bargains and adjust their portfolio in anticipation of Q3 corporate earnings report. The continuing sector rotation is also a focus, with all eyes on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) impending monetary policy meeting.”
Vetiva Dealings and Brokerage, said: “Just like we have seen all weeks, market activity tilted towards the banks. Today’s top five trades by value were all banking names, accounting for 65 per cent of the day’s transaction value and we expect this to filter into the last trading session of the week.”
Investor sentiment, as measured by market breadth was positive as 22 stocks gained relative to nine losers. Thomas Wyatt Nigeria emerged the highest price gainer of 9.79 per cent to close at N2.58 kobo.
Courteville Business Solutions followed with a gain of 8.77 per cent to close at 62 kobo, while DEAP Capital Management and Trust advanced by 8.00 per cent to close at 27 kobo.
Africa Prudential increased by 7.69 per cent to close at N7.00, while Unilever Nigeria added 6.04 per cent to close at N14.05 kobo.
On the other side, Cornerstone Insurance led others on the losers’ chart with 6.06 per cent to close at N1.55, per share. AXA Mansard Insurance followed with a decline of 3.61 per cent to close at N4.00, while Regency Alliance Insurance shed 2.86 per cent to close at 34 kobo, per share.
United Capital lost 2.07 per cent to close at N16.55, while AIICO Insurance depreciated by 2.02 per cent to close at N6.30, per share.
The total volume traded declined by 24.6 per cent to 309.32 million units, valued at N4.55 billion, and exchanged in 5,588 deals. Transactions in the shares of Fidelity Bank led the activity with 61.780 million shares worth N511.532 million.
Access Holdings followed with account of 54.472 million shares valued at N860.09 million, while UBA traded 28.808 million shares valued at N503.054 million.
Zenith Bank traded 20.482 million shares worth N649.285 million, while Transnational Corporation (Transcorp) traded 12.916 million shares worth N82.261 million.
