Price appreciation in listed Oil and Gas, Bank, and Consumer Good shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) pushed the All-Share Index (ASI) by 0.07 per cent amid weak investors trading recorded on Thursday.
The NSE ASI gained 19.66 basis points, representing a growth of 0.07 per cent to close at 29,919.77 basis points from 29,900.11 basis points it opened for trading.
Market statistics obtained by the Nigerian NewsDirect showed that the market capitalisation, which opened trading at N11.236 trillion, gained N8 billion or 0.07 per cent to close trading at N11.244 trillion.
Market breadth closed positive recording 19 gainers as against 17 losers while Year-Till-Date loss moderated to -4.8 per cent.
Precisely, the Oil & Gas index recorded highest gained yesterday and thanks to share price appreciation of 2.8 per cent up following buying interests in Seplat Petroleum (+4.2 per cent) and Forte Oil (+9.9 per cent) while the Banking index gained 0.1 per cent on the back of price appreciation in Guaranty Trust Bank (+0.9 per cent) and Stanbic (+1.7 per cent).
Similarly, the Consumer Goods index marginally inched higher by 4 basis points due to gains in Nigerian Breweries (+1.6 per cent) and Dangote Flour (+9.7 per cent).
On the flip side, the Insurance index shed 0.3 per cent on account of sell offs in AIICO Insuarnce (-2.7 per cent) and Wapic Insurance (-2.4 per cent) while losses in Dangote Cement (-0.6 per cent) and Berger Paints (-5.9 per cent) led to a 0.2 per cent decline in the Industrial Goods index.
Analysts at APT Securities and Fund Limited said that, “Investors are encouraged to position for mid to long term on fundamentally justifiable stocks that have shed weight over time.”
Meanwhile, activity level strengthened as volume and value traded advanced 14.4 per cent and 12.4 per cent to 348.7 million units and N3 billion respectively. Japaul Oil (94.4 million units), Transcorp (31 million units) and Unilever (30 million units) were the top trades by volume while Unilever (N929.5 million), Zenith Bank (N420.4 million) and Guinness (N294.3 million) were the top traded stocks by value.
Cutix Plc crowned the gainers’ table with 10 per cent to close at N1.87 per share. Forte Oil Plc pursued with 9.88 per cent to close at N26.70 as Dangote Flour Mills Plc acquired 9.69 per cent to close at N14.15 per share.
On the other hand, Guinness Nigeria Plc led the losers’ chart, reducing by 10 per cent to close at N48.60 per share. Julius Berger Nigeria Plc trailed with a loss of 10 per cent to close at N22.50, while UACN Property Development Company Plc was down by 9.35 per cent to close at N6.30 per share.
Analysts at Afrinvest Limited said that, “We do not rule out the possibility of profit taking in today’s trading session amidst corporate earnings releases.”
