NGX rebounds with N23bn growth
By Kayode Tokede
The equities market of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) closed trading activities yesterday on the northward trajectory, to reverse the previous day bearish sentiment, as market capitalization grew by N23 billion.
The positive performance was due to investors’ increased buying interest in the Industrial Sector, as inflation declines further to 17.38 per cent.
In summary, the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) grew by 44.96 basis points, representing a rise of 0.11 per cent, to close at 39,550.36 basis points. Similarly, the overall market capitalisation value gained 23 billion to close at N20.606 trillion.
The market positive performance was driven by price appreciation in large and medium capitalised stocks which are; Dangote Cement, Honeywell Flour Mills, UAC of Nigeria (UACN), Pharma-Deko and Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals.
Analysts at Afrinvest Limited, stated that “Given the latest moderation in inflation numbers, we expect buy sentiment to dominate tomorrow’s trading as investors reprice risk on equity assets.”
Furthermore, the market breadth closed at par, recording 16 gainers and 16 losers. Honeywell Flour Mills followed with a gain 9.78 per cent to close at N2.47, per share. Pharm Deko followed with a gain of 9.24 per cent to close at N1.30 and Wema Bank went up 3.70 per cent to close at 84 kobo, per share.
Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals up by 3.66 per cent to close at N1.70, while Dangote Cement appreciated by 3.31 per cent to close at N249.60, per share.
On the other hand, SCOA Nigeria led the losers’ chart by 9.74 per cent to close at N1.76, per share. Nestle Nigeria followed with a decline of 9.09 per cent to close at N1,400.00, while FTN Cocoa Processors lost 8.51 per cent to close at 43 kobo, per share.
Consolidated Hallmark Insurance declined 8.16 per cent to close at 45 kobo, while Linkage Assurance shed 6.35 per cent to close at 59 kobo, per share.
The total volume of trades declined by 21.6 per cent to 110.771 million units, valued at N3.084 billion, and exchanged in 3,305 deals.
Transactions in the shares of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) topped the activity chart with 11.940 million shares valued at N11.293 million. FBN Holdings (FBNH) followed with 11.061 million shares worth N81.323 million, while Oando traded 7.307 million shares valued at N36.378 million.
Access Bank traded 6.190 million shares valued at N56.334 million, while Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) transacted 5.388 million shares worth N14.20 million.
