Equities’ return rises to N272b in 4 days

The rally at the Nigerian stock market continued on Thursday with a net capital gain of N92 billion, bringing the total gains by equities in the past four trading sessions to N272 billion. With nearly two advancers for every decliner, the equities market witnessed improved bargain-hunting on Thursday as investors sought to take early positions in leading stocks across the sectors.

Aggregate market value of all quoted equities at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) increased on Thursday from its opening value of N11.367 trillion to close at N11.459 trillion, representing a net capital gain of N92 billion within the five-hour trading session on Thursday. The All Share Index (ASI)-the value-based index that tracks share prices at the Exchange, surged to 33,246.91 points as against its opening index of 32,981.63 points, representing a gain of 0.80 per cent.

With the continuing rally on Thursday, the net capital gain over the past four trading sessions stood at N272 billion, equivalent to four-day percentage return of 2.42 per cent. Aggregate market value of quoted equities and the ASI had opened this week at N11.187 trillion and 32,459.17 points respectively. The average year-to-date return stood at 23.71 per cent on Thursday.

There were 33 advancers against 19 decliners on Thursday, showing widespread positive sentiment for equities. All sectoral indices closed on the upside with the exception of the NSE Consumer Goods Index, which dropped marginally by 0.01 per cent. The NSE Oil & Gas Index recorded the highest sectoral gain of 2.8 per cent. The NSE Industrial Goods Index followed with 2.0 per cent. The NSE Banking Index appreciated by 0.8 per cent while the NSE Insurance Index inched up by 0.2 per cent.

Read also: Equities sustain rally with N53b gain

Large-cap stocks across the sectors dominated the top gainers’ chart. Mobil Oil Nigeria led the chart with a gain of N22.45 to close at N259. Seplat Petroleum Development Company rose by N5 to close at N475. Forte Oil placed third with a gain of N3.50 to close at N53.50. Guinness Nigeria rallied N3 to close at N63.

Lafarge Africa rose by N2.01 to close at N52. Dangote Cement appreciated by N1.85 to close at N208.11. International Breweries garnered N1.49 to close at N31.46. Stanbic IBTC Holdings rose by N1.04 to close at N31.30. Nestle Nigeria gathered 75 kobo to close at N903.05 while Guaranty Trust Bank, the most capitalised banking stock, chalked up 70 kobo to close at N36.90 per share.

On the downside, Nigerian Breweries led the contrarians with a loss of N1.47 to close at N153.70. UAC of Nigeria followed with a drop of 42 kobo to close at N16.58. NCR Nigeria declined by 38 kobo to close at N7.33. Champion Breweries lost 18 kobo to close at N2.39. BOC Gases declined by 16 kobo to close at N3.14.

Access Bank lost 15 kobo to close at N9.80 per share. FBN Holdings dipped by 7.0 kobo to close at N6.18. Eterna and Africa Prudential Registrars lost 5.0 kobo each to close at N3.80 and N2.95 while Honeywell Flour Mills dropped by 4.0 kobo to close at N1.90 per share.

Total turnover stood at 288.85 million shares valued at N3.82 billion in 3,631 deals. United Bank for Africa was the most active stock with 114.47 million shares valued at N1.03 billion. Guaranty Trust Bank ranked second with 23.92 million shares worth N871.51 million while Niger Insurance placed third with 18 million shares worth N9 million.

“As half-year earnings scorecards begin to trickle in, we expect performance in the equities market to remain upbeat as investors take positions in stocks with positive forward earnings expectation. Nevertheless, we do not eliminate the possibility of some “end of the week” profit taking in tomorrow’s (Friday) trading session following the positive streak,” Afrinvest Securities stated.

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