NSE LIVE! Banks drive equities to robust start with N54bn gain

Banking stocks spurred Nigerian equities to a strong start on Monday, extending the bullish rally at the stock market to the third consecutive trading session.

With five banking stocks on the top 10 gainers’ list, the overall market position rode on the back of improved investors’ appetite for equities to close with average gain of 0.48 per cent, equivalent to net capital gain of N54 billion.

The All Share Index (ASI)-the common value-based index that tracks equities prices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), rose from 32,459.17 points to close at 32,614.60 points. Aggregate market value of all quoted equities rose from its opening value of N11.187 trillion to close at N11.241 trillion, representing a gain of N54 billion. The average year-to-date return thus improved to 21.36 per cent.

Sectoral analysis showed strong rally in the banking sector with the NSE Banking Index appreciating by 3.0 per cent. The NSE Oil &Gas Index also rose by 0.7 per cent while the NSE Industrial Goods Index rose marginally by 0.3 per cent. On the negative side, the NSE Consumer Goods Index declined by 0.7 per cent while the NSE Insurance Index dropped by 0.3 per cent.

Read also: NSE LIVE! Equities break 4-day downtrend with N18bn gain

“We expect performance to be driven by earnings fundamentals in the near term as investors will be looking out for half year corporate earnings due to be released in July to August. Outlook for half year earnings remains decidedly positive; hence, we expect some investors to start taking positions in trading sessions ahead,” Afrinvest Securities-a Lagos-based dealer at the Exchange, stated on the outlook for the next trading sessions.

Flour Mills of Nigeria led the 26-stock gainers’ list with a gain of N2.22 to close at N25. Zenith Bank followed with a gain of 71 kobo to close at N21.31. Ecobank Transnational Incorporated rose by 48 kobo to close at N12.87. Access Bank rose by 45 kobo to close at N9.58. United Bank for Africa added 42 kobo to close at N8.92 per share. Oando appreciated by 37 kobo to close at N8.05. Nascon Allied Industries chalked up 36 kobo to close at N9.40. Red Star Express rose by 25 kobo to N5.25. FBN Holdings added 14 kobo to close at N6.24 while United Capital rose by 13 kobo to close at N3.35 per share.

On the downside, Conoil led the 15-stock losers’ list with a loss of N3.10 to close at N33.21. Seplat Petroleum Development Company followed with a loss of N2 to close at N465. Nigerian Breweries declined by 99 kobo to close at N153.01. Union Bank of Nigeria depreciated by 54 kobo to close at N5.58. Cadbury Nigeria lost 51 kobo to close at N11.99 per share. Stanbic IBTC Holdings dropped by 50 kobo to close at N31 while University Press dipped by 17 kobo to close at N3.23 per share.

Total turnover stood at 182.07 million shares worth N2.03 billion in 3,710 deals. Guaranty Trust Bank was the most active stock with 26.45 million shares valued at N908.97 million. FCMB followed with 18.72 million shares worth N23.16 million while Zenith Bank placed third with 15.66 million shares worth N330.17 million.

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