NSE LIVE! Equities garner N135b in month-end rally

On the last day of September and eve of Nigeria’s 55th independence anniversary, Nigerian equities witnessed a strong rally as investors continued their positioning for the fourth quarter. Aggregate market value of all quoted equities on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) rose by N135 billion to close at N10.729 trillion as against its opening value of N10.594 trillion.
The benchmark index for the stock market, the All Share Index (ASI), also rose by 1.27 per cent to close at a recent high of 31,217.77 points compared with its opening index of 30,825.00 points. The rally helped to reduce the negative overhang at the stock market with average year-to-date return moderating to -9.92 per cent.
The market performance was boosted by gains recorded by several highly capitalised stocks, which overshadowed losses by several other stocks. With 22 gainers to 26 losers, gains by leading stocks such as Nestle Nigeria, Dangote Cement, Guinness Nigeria and Lafarge Africa coloured the overall market position.
Nestle Nigeria, the highest-priced quoted stock, led the gainers with a gain of N10.29 to close at N869.99. Dangote Cement, the most capitalised stock, followed with a gain of N8 to close at N179.99. Guinness Nigeria rose by N1.51 to close at N156.51. UAC of Nigeria and Lafarge Africa added 50 kobo each to close at N31.50 and N98 respectively. UACN Property Development Company gathered 38 kobo to close at N8.17. University Press chalked up 27 kobo to close at N5.73. Honeywell Flour Mills rose by 24 kobo to close at N2.68 while Access Bank rose by 13 kobo to close at N5.19 per share.
“We believe the continued uptrend observed in the market in September remained premised on investors’ expectation for announcement of the ministerial list by the Buhari led Government. While investors continue to await the list which is yet to be publicized as at close of business today, we advise investors to stay bullish on stocks with sound fundamentals,” Afrinvest Securities stated in post-trading review.

Read also: NSE LIVE! Equities sustain uptrend as high-cap stocks lift market

Turnover was above average with the exchange of 416.97 million shares valued at N5.24 billion in 3,608 deals. Access Bank was the most active stock with a turnover of 71.3 million shares valued at N2=362.6 million. Tripple Gee placed second with a turnover of 47.64 million shares worth N80.5 million. Custodian and Allied placed third with a turnover of 47.02 million shares worth N190.25 million.
On the downside, Forte Oil led the losers with a drop of N2 to close at N248. Total Nigeria dropped by 80 kobo to close at N150. Flour Mills of Nigeria lost 56 kobo to close at N22.21. Guaranty Trust Bank declined by 28 kobo to N24. Red Star Express dropped by 22 kobo to N4.18 while Portland Paints and Poducts dropped by 21 kobo to close at N4.10 per share.

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