Trading on NGX closes with N89bn gain
By Kayode Tokede
The equities market of The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) closed the week upbeat on Friday with a growth of N89billion.
The market capitalisation increased by N89 billion or 0.43 per cent to close at N20.568 trillion against N20.479 trillion posted on Thursday.
Also, the All-Share Index which opened at 39,131.80 basis points inched higher by 170.02 basis points or 0.43 per cent to close at 39,301.82 basis points.
Sector performance was broadly positive today with the Consumer Goods (+0.94 per cent), Banking (+0.51 per cent) and Industrial (+0.11 per cent) sectors all closing up today while the Oil and Gas sector closed flat.
A breakdown of the price movement chart indicates that Triple G led the gainers’ table in percentage terms, gaining 9.23 per cent to close at 71k per share.
Sovereign Trust Insurance gained 8.70 per cent to close at 25k, while Stanbic IBTC Group added 8.70 per cent to close at N50 per share.
Academy Press garnered 8.11 per cent to close at 40k, while Regal Insurance rose by eight per cent to close at 27k per share.
On the other hand, Union Dicon topped the losers’ chart in percentage terms, dropping by 9.59 per cent to N9.90 per share.
Linkage Assurance trailed with 4.76 per cent to 80k, while Cornerstone Insurance lost 3.70 per cent to 52k per share.
FTN Cocoa dipped 2.50 per cent to 39k, while Transcorp also lost 2.50 per cent to 80k per share.
Access Bank dominated the activity chart with exchange of 46.79 million shares valued at N351.76 million in 346 deals.
Guaranty Trust Bank accounted for 42.67 million shares worth N1.33 billion in 336 deals, while Linkage Assurance exchanged 29.78 million shares valued at N23.72 million.
FBN Holdings traded 22.83 million shares worth N169.95 million, while United Bank for Africa sold 21.29 million shares valued at N158.88 million in 235 deals.
In all, investors sold 287.04 million shares worth N3.04 billion transacted in 3,578 deals.
This is against 228.12 million shares valued at N2.64 billion exchanged in 3,657 deals on Thursday.
According to analysts at Investment One research, “The equities market closed up today due to the gains recorded in most sectors. 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.”
