NSE LIVE! Equities sustain modest rally with N5bn gain

Nigerian equities continued on the uptrend on Wednesday as investors sustained bargain-hunting amidst indications that several quoted companies may announce their earnings report and dividend recommendations in the next few days.

Aggregate market value of all quoted equities on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) rose marginally by N5 billion from N8.751 trillion to close at N8.756 trillion. The All Share Index (ASI), the common value-based index that tracks share prices, inched up to 25,301.23 points from its opening index of 25,284.56 points. The negative average year-to-date return moderated again to -5.85 per cent.

There were still more gainers than losers and most sectoral indices trended upward. The NSE Insurance Index rose by 1.0 per cent. The NSE Banking Index rallied by 0.1 per cent. The NSE Industrial Goods Index appreciated by 0.07 per cent while the NSE Consumer Goods Index appreciated by 0.1 per cent. However, the NSE Oil & Gas Index declined by 0.9 per cent.

There were 19 gainers against 17 losers. Guinness Nigeria led the gainers with a gain of N2 to close at N70. Unilever Nigeria followed with a gain of N1.60 to close at N33.90. Stanbic IBTC Holdings added 50 kobo to close at N18.50. Zenith Bank rose by 39 kobo to close at N14.15 while Cement Company of Northern Nigeria chalked up 20 kobo to close at N4.50 per share.

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Total turnover stood at 233.77 million shares valued at N2.16 billion in 3,196 deals. Banking stocks dominated the top activities chart. Diamond Bank was the most active stock with a turnover of 95.75 million shares valued at N82.4 million. FBN Holdings followed with 42 million shares worth N131.55 million while Fidelity Bank placed third with 19.13 million shares valued at N15.89 million.

On the downside, Nestle Nigeria led the losers with a loss of N4.99 to close at N730. Forte Oil followed with a drop of N2.19 to close at N47.81. Seplat Petroleum Development Company declined by N1 to close at N398. Ashaka Cement lost 36 kobo to close at N10 while Nigerian Breweries declined by 36 kobo.

Most analysts remained cautious of the outlook for the stock market. “Despite two consecutive positive close of the All Share Index, the decline in market breadth suggests weakening investor sentiment. Hence, we do not rule out investors booking profit in tomorrow’s trading session,” Afrinvest Securities, a Lagos-based dealer at the Exchange, stated.

“We expect a mixed market mood at tomorrow`s session due to the slowdown in positive momentum registered today. Although, the bulls seem to be in charge as the market looks very attractive for an uptick,” analysts at SCM Capital Markets stated.

 

 

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