NSE! Equities rebound with N25bn gain

Nigerian equities rode on the back of bargain-hunting for highly capitalised companies to stage a modest recovery, halting a downtrend that had seen the market losing N162 billion in the previous two consecutive trading sessions.

Benchmark indices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed average day-on-day gain of 0.17 per cent, equivalent to net capital gain of N25 billion. The modest gain nudged the average year-to-date return to 5.90 per cent.

With 16 advancers to 26 decliners, the positive overall market position was boosted mainly by gains recorded by large-cap stocks, especially Dangote Cement Plc.

Aggregate market value of all quoted equities rose from its opening value of N14.604 trillion to close at N14.629 trillion. The All Share Index (ASI)-the common value-based index that tracks share prices at the Exchange, inched up from its opening index of 40,429.18 points to close at 40,499.04 points.

The momentum of activities also improved as turnover volume and value rose by 3rs 5.3 per cent and 14.3 per cent respectively. Investors staked a total of N4.21 billion on 388.28 million shares in 4,222 deals.

Read also: NSE! Equities open with N149bn loss

Despite the positive overall market position, most sectoral indices closed in the red, underlining the preponderance of decliners to advancers. The NSE Industrial Goods Index rose by 2.8 per cent while the NSE Consumer Goods Index appreciated by 0.6 per cent. On the downside, the NSE Banking Index declined by 1.5 per cent. The NSE Insurance Index dropped by 0.1 per cent while the NSE Oil & Gas Index dipped by 0.06 per cent.

11 Plc, formerly Mobil Oil Nigeria led the advancers with a gain of N8.50 to close at N178.50. Dangote Cement followed with a gain of N3 to close at N255. International Breweries rose by N2.35 to close at N51.50. Lafarge Africa appreciated by N1.40 to close at N42.40. Dangote Sugar Refinery added 55 kobo to close at N22 while Ecobank Transnational Incorporated and Flour Mills of Nigeria rose by 50 kobo each to close at N17.55 and N37 respectively.

On the negative side, Total Nigeria led the decliners with a loss of N2.80 to close at N233.80. Unilever Nigeria dropped by N1.90 to close at N53.10. Forte Oil lost N1.40 to close at N38.60. Zenith Bank dropped by 55 kobo to close at N26.35 while Guaranty Trust Bank lost 50 kobo to close at N43 per share.

“Following a rebound in the local bourse on the back of gains in Dangote Cement, we expect continued positive performance in the near term as attractive opportunities remain particularly in the banking sector,” Afrinvest Securities stated.

“We expect sentiment to remain upbeat tomorrow (Wednesday) on continuous bargain hunting,” SCM Capital noted.

 

RipplesNigeria… without borders, without fears

Click here to join the Ripples Nigeria WhatsApp group for latest updates.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now