Equities Regain Rally With N53b Gain

• Equities Regain Rally With N53b Gain

Nigerian equities rebounded yesterday as large-cap stocks rallied the market to a net capital gain of N53 billion. Benchmark indices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed average day-on-day gain of 0.44 per cent, representing net capital appreciation of N53 billion.

The All Share Index (ASI)-the benchmark index for the equities market, rose from its opening index of 34,951.27 points to close at 35,103.40 points. Aggregate market value of all quoted equities also rose from its opening value of N12.048 trillion to close at N12.101 trillion.

The upturn was driven by widespread gains, especially within the medium and large-cap stocks including Nestle Nigeria, Dangote Cement, Zenith Bank, International Breweries and Stanbic IBTC Holdings.

There were 24 gainers against 22 losers. Champion Breweries recorded the highest price gain of 8.14 per cent to close at N2.39 per share. Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals followed with a gain of 4.62 per cent to close at 68 kobo. Linkage Assurance appreciated by 4.55 per cent to close at 69 kobo per share. Fidson went up by 4.52 percent to close at N3.24 per share while C & I Leasing appreciated by 4.32 per cent to close at N1.45.

On the other hand, Morison led the losers’ chart by 8.33 per cent to close at 66 kobo per share. UACN Property Development Company followed with a decline of five per cent to close at N2.85. University Press depreciated by 4.81 per cent to close at N2.57 per share. Caverton Offshore Support Group declined by 4.59 percent to close at N1.04 while AG Leventis Nigeria declined by 4.41 per cent to close at 65 kobo per share.

Turnover meanwhile slowed down considerably as volume traded declined by 72.74 per cent to 136.40 million shares worth N1.27 billion in 2.860 deals. Transactions in the shares of Jaiz Bank topped the activity chart with 35.85 million shares valued at N26.1 million. Meyer Paints followed with 20.01 million shares worth N14.01 million. FBN Holdings traded 6.69 million shares valued at N36.78 billion. Diamond Bank traded 5.43 million shares valued at N6.04 million while Access Bank recorded 4.88 million shares worth N46.2 million.

“Despite the rebound in ASI, we note that market breadth is yet to comfortable crossover to the positive territory. The low level of activity as shown in weaker volume and value traded further suggests sentiment for equities remains low; thus, we expect the market to trade sideways in subsequent sessions pending the release of third quarter earnings,” Afrinvest Securities stated.