NSE! Equities open May rally with N13bn gain

Nigerian equities started this month on a broad but modest rally as bargain-hunting for value stocks added N13 billion net capital gain to market value of quoted shares.

After dropping by 0.57 per cent in April to close the average return for the four-month period at 7.91 per cent, benchmark index at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) recorded a modest gain of 0.09 per cent on the first trading session in May.

The modest rally on Wednesday nudged the average year-to-date return to 8.01 per cent, its highest point in more than a month.

The All Share Index (ASI)-the value-based common index that tracks share prices at the NSE rose from its opening index of 41,268.01 points to close at 41,306.02 points. Aggregate marketvalue of all quoted equities appreciated to N14.962 trillion as against its opening value of N14.949 trillion, representing a net capital gain of N13 billion.

With 23 advancers against 15 decliners, the overall market position was driven by widespread bargain-hunting across many sectors. The NSE Oil & Gas Index rose by 1.2 per cent. The NSE Banking Index appreciated by 0.6 per cent while the NSE Industrial Goods Index inched up by 0.3 per cent. However, the NSE Consumer Goods Index declined by 1.1 per cent while the NSE Insurance Index dipped by 0.59 per cent.

Read also: April slowdown cuts Nigerian equities’ return to 7.91%

11, formerly Mobil Oil Nigeria led the advancers with a gain of N16.70 to close at N191.50. Dangote Cement followed with a gain of N1.90 to close at N247.90. Presco garnered 70 kobo to close at N70. Union Bank of Nigeria added 15 kobo to close at N6.50 while Zenith Bank and United Bank for Africa rose by 15 kobo each to close at N27.60 and N11.70 respectively.

On the downside, Nestle Nigeria led the decliners with a drop of N29 to close at N1,570. Dangote Flour Mills dropped by N1.25 to close at N12.05. Nigerian Breweries declined by 90 kobo to close at N129. Cadbury Nigeria dipped by 65 kobo to close at N13.15 while Dangote Sugar Refinery lost 50 kobo to close at N20 per share.

Total turnover stood at 276.24 million shares valued at N6.89 billion in 5,327 deals. Banking stocks dominated the top activities chart. United Bank for Africa (UBA) led the most active stocks with a turnover of 52.33 million shares valued at N610.87 million. Guaranty Trust Bank followed with a turnover of 42.27 million shares worth N1.9 billion while Zenith Bank recorded a turnover of 30.07 million shares valued at N832.43 million.

Analysts remained optimistic about the outlook for quoted equities.

“We retain our positive outlook for risky assets, and look for extension of gains on the Exchange…,” analysts at Cordros Capital stated.

“We maintain our bullish medium term outlook as attractive entry opportunities continue surface in the market,” Afrinvest Securities stated.

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