Nigeria, April 13 -- Nigerian stocks advanced at a quicker pace last week, shaking of the tepid market sentiment of the preceding week, when gains were generally flattish, as the benchmark index rose in this case by 1 per cent. Increased buy pressure on bank stocks drove the jump.

"While some short-term pullbacks may occur, we believe the underlying positive drivers, ranging from dividend momentum to robust liquidity-will continue to outweigh downside pressures, keeping the market on track to close the week higher," analysts at Meristem Securities said in a note to investors last week.

Looking ahead, investors' interest is likely to shift more this week and in the near term to fundamentally strong equities, especially undervalued stocks...