Equities market of NGX gains N36.59bn to maintain positive posture
By Kayode Tokede
Trading activities on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on Tuesday closed on a positive note, extended the bullish run to two consecutive trading sessions, as investors’ investment gained by N36.59 billion.
The positive performance was spurred by investors’ sustained buy interests in Dangote Cement and 20 others.
In summary, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 70.22 absolute points, representing a growth of 0.18 per cent to close at 39,382.96 basis points, while the overall market capitalisation value gained N36 billion to close at N20.527 trillion.
Sector performance, however, was broadly negative today with the Banking (-0.33 per cent), Oil and Gas (-0.14per cent) and Consumer Goods (-0.02 per cent) sectors all closing negative, while the Industrial sector (+0.70 per cent) closed positive.
Analysts at Afrinvest Limited said that “In the next trading session, we expect the recent price appreciation of some large-cap stocks to trigger profit taking by speculative investors.”
As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was positive, as 21 stocks gained relative to 17 losers. Meyer Plc recorded the highest price gain of 9.62 per cent to close at 57 kobo, per share. Presco followed with a gain 9.58 per cent to close at N78.90, while UPDC Real Estate Investment Trust rose by 9.21 per cent to close at 83 kobo, per share.
Africa Prudential rose by 9.17 per cent to close at N6.55, while Unity Bank appreciated by 9.09 per cent to close at 60 kobo per share. On the other hand, Regency Alliance Insurance led the losers’ chart by 8.82 per cent, to close at 31 kobo, per share. Honeywell Flour Mill followed with a decline of 5.83 per cent to close at N1.13, while Cutix Plc shed 4.98 per cent to close at N2.10, per share.
United Capital shed four per cent to close at N5.76, while Wapic Insurance depreciated by 3.77 per cent to close at 51 kobo, per share.
Meanwhile, the total volume of trades decreased by 8.5 per cent to 296.60 million units, valued at N3.36 billion, and exchanged in 4,265 deals. Transactions in the shares of Access Bank topped the activity chart with 58.559 million shares valued at N494.147 million. UAC of Nigeria (UACN) followed with 38.274 million shares worth N394.223 million, while Fidelity Bank traded 27.151 million shares valued at N62.356 million.
Zenith Bank traded 26.422 million shares valued at N609.739 million, while Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) transacted 15.626 million shares worth N14.180 million.
According to analysts at Investment One research, “The equities market closed up today due to the gains recorded in the Industrial sector. 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.”
