NSE ILVE! Equities’ rally gathers momentum with N91b gain

Bargain-hunters upped the ante at the Nigerian stock market on Thursday as increased market orders pushed several stocks to higher prices. Against the background of average gain of 0.41 per cent on Wednesday, average gain more than doubled to 0.99 per cent on Thursday.

With nearly two gainers to every loser, aggregate market value of all quoted equities on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) rose from its opening value of N9.192 trillion to close at N9.283 trillion, representing capital gain of N91 billion.

The All Share Index (ASI)- the common value-based index that tracks prices of all quoted equities, indicated a day-on-day gain of 0.99 per cent to close at 27,028.24 points as against its opening index of 26,763.86 points. The uptrend further moderated the negative average year-to-date return to -5.64 per cent.

“The sustained appreciation in the NSE ASI signals investors’ confidence in the positive outlook of the Nigerian economy,” FSDH Securities stated.

Analysts at Cowry Asset Management noted that the continued rally at the stock market was due to sustained bargain hunting activities, particularly on banking, oil and gas, and pension stocks.

Most sectoral indices closed on the upside. For the second consecutive trading session, banking stocks were the fastest rising group of stocks as the NSE Banking Index rose by 4.6 per cent. The NSE Industrial Index appreciated by 1.2 per cent while the NSE Oil & Gas Index rose by 1.1 per cent. However, the NSE Consumer Goods Index declined by 0.8 per cent while the NSE Insurance Index slipped by 0.5 per cent.

Nestle Nigeria, NSE’s highest-priced stock, led the gainers with a gain of N7.50 to close at N732.50. Seplat Petroleum Development Company rallied N5 to close at N355. Lafarge Africa rose by N2.50 to close at N76. Guaranty Trust Bank added N1.43 to close at N20.97 while Julius Berger gathered N1.29 to close at N45 per share.

Investors staked N2.73 billion on 498.78 million shares in 4,765 deals. The three most active stocks included Diamond Bank, with 99.68 million shares; FBN Holdings, 73.67 million shares and Continental Reinsurance, which recorded a turnover of 44.96 million shares.

Meanwhile, Guinness Nigeria led the losers with a loss of N3.90 to close at N95.10. Nigerian Breweries followed with a loss of N2 to close at N125.50. Unilever Nigeria dropped by N1.60 to close at N30.41. NCR declined by N1.01 to close at N9.46 while Union Homes and Savings dropped by 33 kobo to close at N3.17 per share.

“As the market continues on a bullish streak, we expect to see some profit taking in the trading session ahead, however, we expect the market to close positive for the week,” Afrinvest Securities stated.

 

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