Equities market appreciates by N35bn to halt investors’ profit-taking
By Kayode Tokede
The equities market of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on Thursday closed trading activities on a positive note, to halt the previous days’ bearish trend.
The market upturn was due to investors’ buying interest in Dangote Cement and 15 others as market capitisation advanced by N35 billion.
In summary, the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) grew by 68.01 basis points, representing a rise of 0.17 per cent, to close at 39,252.19 basis points. Similarly, the overall market capitalisation value gained N35 billion to close at N20.451 trillion.
Sector performances were mixed with the Industrial (+0.44 per cent) and Banking (+0.19 per cent) sectors closing in the green, while Consumer Goods (-0.06 per cent) and Oil and Gas (-1.22 per cent) sectors closed in the red.
The market positive performance was driven by price appreciation in large and medium capitalised stocks which are Dangote Cement, Julius Berger Nigeria, Access Bank, United Capital and United Bank for Africa (UBA).
However, the market breadth closed negative, recording 18 losers as against 16 gainers. Chams Plc followed with a gain 4.76 per cent to close at 22 kobo, per share. Prestige Assurance followed with a gain of 4.35 per cent to close at 48 kobo and Wema Bank went up 3.66 per cent to close at 85 kobo, per share.
AXA Mansard Insurance up by 3.49 per cent to close at 89 kobo, while Julius Berger appreciated by 2.97 per cent to close at N26.00, per share.
On the other hand, Unity Bank led the losers’ chart by 8.62 per cent to close at 53 kobo, per share. Oando followed with a decline of 7.03 per cent to close at N4.10, while Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) lost 6.54 per cent to close at N5.00, per share.
FTN Cocoa Processors declined 5.77 per cent to close at 49 kobo, while Honeywell Flour Mills shed 4.88 per cent to close at N3.90, per share.
The total volume of trades improved by 54.84 per cent to 262.139 million units, valued at N1.999 billion, and exchanged in 3,955 deals.
Transactions in the shares of Access Bank topped the activity chart with 51.073 million shares valued at N471.191 million. Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) followed with 36.095 million shares worth N32.456 million, while Honeywell Flour Mills traded 18.635 million shares valued at N72.350 million.
Mutual Benefits Assurance traded 17.680 million shares valued at N5.242 million, while Sovereign Trust Insurance transacted 16.801 million shares worth N4.079 million.
Analysts at Investment One research said, “The equities market closed up today due to the gains recorded across the Banking and Industrial sectors.
“Going forward, we expect investor’s sentiments to be swayed by the search for real positive returns and developments in the interest rate space.
“We reiterate that this may be a great period to pick up some quality names with a medium to long-term investment horizon.”
