Equities market gains 0.89% as BUA Cement, others soar
By Kayode Tokede
The Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) equities market on Monday closed transactions on a positive note as All Share Index grew by 0.89 per cent.
The upturn can be attributed to investors’ buying interest in the market major sectors, except banking sector.
The All Share Index (ASI) rose by 340.48 basis points or 0.89 per cent to 38,722.87 basis points. Accordingly, investors gained N178 billion in value as market capitalisation went up to N20.260 trillion.
The upturn was impacted by gains recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are; Stanbic IBTC Holdings, BUA Cement, Julius Berger, Ardova Plc and UAC of Nigeria (UACN).
On this week’s trading, analysts at United Capital Plc said “We retain the expectation of a short term rebound in the market. The improving investor sentiment (for the second consecutive week) indicates mild interest in key counters as investors begin to buy the dip on value stocks.
“That said, we note that the Nigerian equities market is in a mid-term lull as the ASI remains below its 50-day moving average (MA) and the 20-day MA remains firmly below the 50-day MA, two strong bearish indicators.”
Analysts at Afrinvest Limited said “ We expect a mix of bargain-hunting and profit-taking in the local bourse this week.”
As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was positive, as 26 stocks gained, relative to eight losers. Julius Berger and Stanbic IBTC Holdings recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent each, to close at N18.70 and N144.00, respectively, while UACN followed with a gain 6.67 per cent to close at N8.00, per share.
John Holt went up by 6.52 per cent to close at 49 kobo, while International Breweries appreciated by 5.88 per cent to close at N5.40, per share. On the other hand, Champion breweries led the losers’ chart by 8.20 per cent to close at N2.24, per share. Jaiz Bank followed with a decline of 4.48 per cent to close at 64 kobo, while Japaul Gold and Ventures declined by 4.08 per cent to close at 47 kobo, per share.
Consolidated Hallmark Insurance declined by 3.23 per cent to close at 30 kobo, while Learn Africa shed 2.73 per cent to close at N1.07, per share.
The total volume of trades declined by 4.6 per cent to 277.235 million units, valued at N3.053 billion and exchanged in 4,299 deals. Transactions in the shares of Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) topped the activity chart with 79.895 million shares valued at N423.435 million. Guaranty Trust Bank followed with 36.129 million shares worth N1.124 billion, while FBN Holdings (FBNH) traded 33.297 million shares valued at N242.464 million.
Zenith Bank traded 25.003 million shares valued at N562.472 million, while Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) transacted 24.057 million shares worth N19.469 million.
