NSE LIVE! Equities rebound with N166bn gain

After losing about N1.05 trillion in seven days of consecutive depreciation, Nigerian equities regain their rally on Wednesday with a net capital gain of N166 billion as investors increased bids for bargain stocks.

With 25 advancers to 19 decliners, the overall market position was stimulated by gains recorded by highly capitalised stocks in the influential banking, foods and breweries sectors. Average day-on-day gain at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) stood at 1.11 per cent, equivalent to net capital gain of N166 billion. The rebound also boosted the average year-to-date return to 10.27 per cent.

The All Share Index (ASI)-the common value-based index that tracks share prices at the Exchange rose from its opening index of 41,708.15 points to close at 42,171.80 points. Aggregate market value of all quoted equities rose correspondingly from its opening value of N14.968 trillion to close at N15.134 trillion.

Most sectoral indices closed on the upside, underlying the widespread gains across the sectors, especially by sectoral leaders. The NSE Banking Index recorded above-average gain of 2.7 per cent. The NSE Insurance Index rose by 1.3 per cent. The NSE Consumer Goods Index appreciated by 1.0 per cent while the NSE Industrial Goods Index inched up by 0.2 per cent. However, the NSE Oil and Gas Index slipped by 0.3 per cent.

Nestle Nigeria- Nigeria’s highest-priced stock led the advancers with a gain of N25 kobo to close at N1, 345. Beta Glass followed with a gain of N3.40 to close at N72.10. Zenith Bank rallied N1.50 to close at N31.50. Nigerian Breweries rose by N1.20 to close at N129. Flour Mills of Nigeria gathered 90 kobo to close at N32.40. Dangote Flour Mills rose by 75 kobo to close at N15.85. United Bank for Africa added 70 kobo to close at N11.85 per share while Access Bank rose by 60 kobo to close at N12.60 per share.

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On the downside, Total Nigeria led the decliners with a loss of N1 to close at N229. Forte Oil followed with a drop of 80 kobo to close at N45. Okomu Oil Palm dropped by 50 kobo to close at N72. Dangote Cement lost 30 kobo to close at N258.40. NASCON Allied Industries dropped by 25 kobo to close at N20.75 per share.Caverton Offshore Support Group lost 15 kobo to close at N2.85 per share while PharmaDeko dropped by 11 kobo to close at N2.25 while

Total turnover stood at 520.74 million shares valued at N4.72 billion in 5,694 deals. Skye Bank was the most active stock with a turnover of 113.2 million shares valued at N121.95 million. FCMB Group followed with 54.11 million shares worth N146.1 million while United Bank for Africa placed third with 41.93 million shares worth N487.57 million.

“Following the improvement in investor sentiment, we anticipate positive market performance till the end of the week. We also expect sustained improvement in market activity as investors take position in stocks with attractive valuation,” Afrinvest Securities stated.

Analysts at Cordros Capital stated that they expected “appetite to remain strong, as investors continue to hunt bargains and take position ahead of fourth quarter 2017 earnings, amidst generally improving macroeconomic conditions”.

 

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