Equities market rebounds with N520bn gain after 3-day losing streak

By Seun Ibiyemi

The Nigerian equities market bounced back strongly on Thursday, adding ₦520 billion in market capitalisation after three consecutive sessions of losses.

Renewed buying interest in stocks including Ellah Lakes, Veritas Kapital, Honeywell Flour Mill, AXA Mansard, Royal Exchange, and 36 other gainers powered the rally.

Market capitalisation climbed by 0.6 per cent from ₦87.416 trillion to ₦87.936 trillion. The All-Share Index (ASI) also advanced by 0.6 per cent, or 822.85 points, closing at 138,980.01 compared to Wednesday’s 138,157.16.

Market breadth closed positive with 41 gainers against 14 losers. Ellah Lakes and Veritas Kapital topped the gainers’ table, each appreciating by 10 per cent to close at ₦12.98 and ₦1.98 per share respectively. Honeywell Flour Mill surged 9.95 per cent to ₦23.20, while AXA Mansard and Royal Exchange both rose 9.94 per cent to ₦15.82 and ₦1.88 per share.

On the downside, Austin Laz led the laggards, slipping 9.75 per cent to ₦2.87 per share. Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals fell 8.33 per cent to ₦6.05, DAAR Communications declined by 4.44 per cent to 86k, Champion Breweries dropped 4.15 per cent to ₦15, and Unilever Nigeria shed 4.11 per cent to ₦70 per share.

Trading activity saw a sharp jump in volume, though value and number of deals were lower. Investors exchanged 1.82 billion shares worth ₦15.9 billion in 24,612 deals, compared with Wednesday’s 482.8 million shares valued at ₦19.7 billion in 28,193 transactions.

Sovereign Trust Insurance dominated trading volume with 1.4 billion shares worth ₦4.2 billion. Nigerian Breweries followed with 41.2 million shares valued at ₦2.8 billion, while Fidelity Bank recorded 30.56 million shares worth ₦642.1 million. Zenith Bank and Universal Insurance also featured prominently, trading 26.4 million and 24.2 million shares respectively.