Following gains recorded by most blue chip stocks, especially Seplat and FTN Cocoa, transactions on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) extended gain to two consecutive sessions, causing market capitalisation to appreciate further by N66 billion
At the close of transactions yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) gained 125.70 absolute points, representing a growth of 0.31 per cent to close at 40,590.85 points. Similarly, the overall market capitalisation value increased by N66 billion to close at N21.224 trillion.
The uptrend was also driven by price appreciation in medium and large capitalised stocks, including SEPLAT, Nigerian Breweries, Ardova Plc, Dangote Sugar Refinery and Guaranty Trust Bank.
Analysts at Afrinvest Limited said: “We anticipate the equities market would close on a positive note for the week.”
Market sentiment, as measured by market breadth, was positive, as 27 stocks gained as against 14 losers. FTN Cocoa Processors, Livestock Feeds and SEPLAT recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent each, to close at 66 kobo, N1.65 and N451.00 kobo.
Ardova Plc followed with a gain of 9.96 per cent to close at N14.90, while Japaul Gold and Ventures rose by 9.88 per cent to close at 89 kobo.
On the other hand, Sovereign Trust Insurance led the losers’ chart by 9.09 per cent, to close at 20 kobo, per share. Courteville Business Solutions followed with a decline of 8.70 per cent to close at 21 kobo while Lasaco Assurance shed 7.89 per cent to close at 35 kobo.
Unilever Nigeria shed 6.47 per cent to close at N13.00, while Sterling Bank depreciated by 4.39 per cent to close at N1.96 kobo.
The total volume of trades increased significantly by 755.0 per cent to 2.133 billion units, valued at N7.509 billion, and exchanged in 4,558 deals.
Transactions in the shares of Champion Breweries topped the activity chart with 1.905 billion shares valued at N4.951 billion. United Bank for Africa (UBA) followed with 26.487 million shares worth N228.449 million, while Dangote Sugar Refinery traded 21.473 million shares valued at N397.845 million.
Fidelity Bank traded 15.710 million shares valued at N39.748 million, while Access Bank transacted 13.293 million shares worth N117.053 million. – The Guardian.
