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NSE LIVE! Equities sustain rally on budget hopes

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NSE LIVE! Equities’ rally widens with N44b gain

Nigerian equities remained positive on Tuesday, sustaining a two-day gain that had seen the market regaining N131 billion in capital gains in the past two trading session. Key benchmark indices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) indicated average day-on-day gain of 0.71 per cent on Tuesday, equivalent to a gain of N65 billion.

With wider positive sentiments, aggregate market value of all quoted equities rose from its opening value of N9.190 trillion to close at N9.255 trillion. The All Share Index (ASI)- a value-based common index that tracks prices of all quoted equities, also recovered to 26,918.22 points from its opening index of 26,728.64 points.

The rally helped to reduce the negative average year-to-date return to -22.33 per cent as the stock market responded eagerly to the formal presentation of the N6 trillion 2016 national budget to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari .

President Buhari promised to ensure diligent implementation of the national budget, raising hopes that expenditure profiles for capital projects would be realized. Nigeria has had history of poor budget implementation since the advent of this democratic dispensation.

The President appeared to have re-infused confidence into the macro economy, which has been shaken by declining Naira and hangovers of previous crises including fuel scarcity.
“I stand before you today promising that we will secure our country, rebuild our economy , and make the Federal Republic of Nigeria stronger than it has ever been,” President Buhari assured.

Read also: NSE LIVE! Equities gain N66b on renewed bargain-hunting

The equities market responded with increased demand for leading companies across the sectors. While there were more gainers than losers, the overall positive position was driven largely by gains recorded by large-cap stocks such as Lafarge Africa, Forte Oil, Nigerian Breweries, Dangote Cement and UAC of Nigeria.

Forte Oil led the 20-stock gainers’ list with a gain of N18.90 to close at N273. Mobil Oil Nigeria followed with a gain of N10.20 to close at N130.20. Nigerian Breweries, the second most capitalised company at the stock market, rose by N5.80 to close at N121.80. Lafarge Africa added N1.75 to close at N94. Dangote Cement, which leads as the most capitalised quoted company, rallied 95 kobo to close at N153. UAC of Nigeria chalked up 75 kobo to close at N19.50. Cement Company of Northern Nigeria and Okomu Oil Palm rose by 39 kobo each to close at N8.31 and N27.60 respectively. E-Tranzact gathered 28 kobo to close at N3.20 while Nigerian Aviation Handling Company rose by 17 kobo to close at N3.61 per share.

Total turnover stood at 397.25 million shares worth N2.64 billion in 2,683 deals. Wema Bank was the most active stock with 161.46 million shares worth N138.9 million. Fidelity Bank followed on the activity chart with a turnover of 60.32 million shares valued at N84.31 million while Guaranty Trust Bank placed third with a turnover of 34.53 million shares worth N656.64 million.

On the downside, there were 16 contrarian stocks. Guaranty Trust Bank, the most capitalised banking stock and third most capitalised quoted stock, led the losers with a loss of N1 to close at N19. PZ Cussons Nigeria followed with a loss of 67 kobo to close at N28.31. Portland Paints and Products Nigeria dropped by 16 kobo to close at N3.42 while Zenith Bank lost 13 kobo to close at N13.70 per share.

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