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NSE LIVE! Equities sustain rally with N121b gain

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NSE LIVE! Inflation, low corporate earnings drag equities down

Nigerian equities continued on their recovery mode as the momentum of activities at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) rose above recent average. After a dramatic upturn led to a gain of N331 billion on Wednesday, quoted equities further gathered N121 billion in capital gains on Thursday.

Aggregate market value of all quoted equities increased from opening value of N8.025 trillion to close at N8.146 trillion. The All Share Index (ASI)-the value-based common index that tracks prices of all quoted equities, also appreciated to 23,686.67 points from its opening index of 23,335.01 points.

The market remained broadly bullish, but the rally softened slightly as the gap between advancers and decliners narrowed. Compared with the pricing trend of nearly six advancers to one decliner on Wednesday, it was two advancers to a decliner on Thursday.

Besides, sectoral indices showed mixed performance. The NSE Consumer Goods Index appreciated by 4.8 per cent. The NSE Banking Index also rose by 0.6 per cent. However, the NSE Insurance Index declined by 0.9 per cent. The NSE Industrial Goods Index also depreciated by 0.7 per cent while the NSE Oil and Gas Index closed flat.
On the average, average year-to-date return at the stock market so far this year stood at -17.30 per cent.

There were 29 advancers against 14 decliners on Thursday. Nestle Nigeria, NSE’s highest-priced stock, remained atop the gainers’ list with a gain of N35.30 to close at N744.15. Seven-Up Bottling Company followed with a gain of N10.99 to close at N172.99. Nigerian Breweries rose by N7.90 to close at N105.50. Okomu Oil Palm added N2.01 to close at N30 while Guinness Nigeria and UAC of Nigeria rose by 97 kobo and 93 kobo to close at N97 and N19.90 respectively.

Read also: NSE Roundup! Equities lose N1.2tr in 5 days as panic grips investors

Total turnover jumped to 476.15 million shares worth N3.64 billion in 5,405 deals. The most active stock was FCMB Holdings with a turnover of 125.77 million shares worth N128.38 million.

On the other hand, Lafarge Africa led the losers with a loss of N1.47 to close at N82. Ecobank Transnational Incorporated and Ashaka Cement followed with a loss of 45 kobo each to close at N23.55. Vitafoam Nigeria dropped by 40 kobo to close at N4.58 while Flour Mills of Nigeria lost 22 kobo to close at N16.13 per share.

“Gains in the market today were softened compared to yesterday’s performance and this may indicate some investors are already taking profit from yesterday’s rally. Nevertheless, we note the sustained optimism in the Bourse as shown in the strong market breadth. Investors’ horizons are generally short in periods of volatility hence we may anticipate further profit-taking in the session ahead. The effect of this on market sentiment may however be cushioned by domestic early bird investors speculating on a possible exchange rate adjustment by the CBN at the MPC meeting holding next week. We still view current prices — especially in the Tier-1 Banking, Consumer &Industrial Goods sectors – as attractive for fundamental long-term investors,” Afrinvest Securities-a Lagos-based broker/dealer at the NSE, stated.

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