NSE LIVE! Equities’ rally widens with N44b gain

The modest rally that started on Tuesday at the Nigerian stock market widened considerably on Wednesday as investors stepped up bargain-hunting for more stocks. Against the background of the N11 billion gain on Tuesday, Nigerian equities rallied additional capital gains of N44 billion on Wednesday.

With more than two advancers for every decliner, the overall market situation turned into a relatively strong buyers’ market, with increased demand allowing selling investors to make premium on their offer prices.

While banking stocks remained the most active on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the rally spread out across the sectors with investors showing appetite for banking, consumer goods and oil and gas stocks.
Read Also : NSE LIVE! Equities recover with N11b gain

Aggregate market value of all quoted equities rose from N8.482 trillion to close at N8.526 trillion. The All Share Index (ASI)-the value-based index that tracks prices of all quoted equities on the NSE, also increased by 0.51 per cent from 24,659.17 points to close at 24,784.95 points. The uptrend helped to narrowed down the negative overhang at the stock market with the average year-to-date return now at -13.47 per cent.

Most sectoral and group indices also reflected the upbeat. The NSE Banking Index recorded above average gain of 1.9 per cent. The NSE Consumer Goods Index rose by 0.6 per cent. The NSE Oil and Gas Index appreciated by 0.5 per cent while the NSE Insurance Index inched up by 0.2 per cent. Meanwhile, the NSE Industrial Goods Index closed flat.

Seplat Petroleum Development Company led the 23-stock gainers’ list with a gain of N2.85 to close at N335. Flour Mills of Nigeria and Nigerian Breweries followed with a gain of 64 kobo each to close at N20 and N103.14 each. Guaranty Trust Bank rose by 46 kobo to close at N16.16. Nascon Allied Industries appreciated by 34 kobo to close at N7.74. Zenith Bank added 28 kobo to close at N11.80. Dangote Sugar Refinery rose by 25 kobo to close at N5.42. Tiger Branded Consumer Goods rallied 24 kobo to close at N2.65 while UACN Property Development Company and Oando gathered 20 kobo each to close at N4.20 and N4.30 respectively.

Analysts agreed there were improved appetite for equities. FSDH Securities stated that the uptrend was due to “sustained positive appetite for equity investment”. While remaining cautious, Afrinvest Securities stated that the two-day consecutive rally was due to bargain-hunting, referring to increased buy orders for equities.

Turnover stood at 159.26 million shares valued at N1.11 billion in 2,698 deals.

On the downside, Mobil Oil Nigeria led the 11-stock losers’ list with a loss of N2.25 to close at N149. Okomu Oil Palm followed with a drop of 48 kobo to close at N30. Custodian and Allied declined by 19 kobo to close at N3.71. Portland Paints and Products Nigeria lost 13 kobo to close at N2.75 while Airline Services and Logistics dropped by 10 kobo to close at N1.90 per share.

“Notwithstanding uptrend observed in the last two sessions, we believe short term outlook for equities remains somewhat bearish. Thus, we expect speculators to take profit in the sessions ahead,” Afrinvest Securities- a Lagos-based dealer on the NSE, stated in post-trading review.

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