Investors on Wednesday gained N338bn on the trading floor of Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).
This was as investors’ appetite for banking stocks on the trading floor of Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) lifted the All-Share Index (ASI) from the negative region even as investors gained N338bn.
The rebound ended two days of losing streak as investors focused on fundamentally sound stocks, impressive Half Year (HY) 2023 results and dividend payments from banks such as Zenith Bank and UBA, which filed their results to the investing community.
Specifically, a rally on the shares of AccessCorp (+9.77 per cent), UBA (+9.78 per cent) and Zenith Bank Plc (+0.74 per cent) supported the market, resulting in a 0.93 per cent increase in the benchmark All Share Index (ASI) to 67,373.88 points from 66,760.20 points recorded in the previous session. Also, the market capitalisation closed at N36.876 trillion from N36.538 trillion, representing a 0.93% increase and a N338bn gain to investors.
Accordingly, the year-to-date (YTD) return increased to +31.47 per cent. Performance across the sectors was bullish, with the banking sector appreciating by 4.58 per cent, while the Insurance and Consumer Goods Index rose by 2.27 per cent and 1.27 per cent.
On the flipside, the Oil and Gas Index fell by -0.12 per cent while the Industrial Goods Index dipped by -0.03 per cent.
Analysis of the activity level showed that the total traded volume of stocks plunged by 11.76 per cent to 569.633 million units, while the value of stocks traded declined by 20.99 per cent to N8.70 billion, which changed hands in 8.405 deals. This is against 645.54m units and N11.01bn, exchanged in 10,554 deals recorded in the previous trading session.
Oando Plc was the most active stock, transacting 143.44m units valued at N1.39bn. AccessCorp sold 63.55m units worth N1.07bn, while Fidelity Bank transacted 39.55m units valued at N31.37m.
Reacting to this development, analysts at Afrinvest said that they expect a positive performance on the local bourse as investors hunt for bargains amid improved sentiment.
Meanwhile, as measured by market breadth, investor sentiment improved as 34 stocks appreciated while 23 others depreciated in value. Dangote Sugar (+10 per cent) led the gainers’ chart, while Courtville (-10 per cent) topped the losers’ chart.