- 31 Stocks Soar, Boost Market Capitalisation by N71bn
The Nigerian equities market, on Wednesday, sustained its gaining streak as 31 stocks appreciated, boosting the Nigerian Stock Exchange market capitalisation by N71bn.
A total of 441.808 million shares valued at N4.088bn exchanged hands in 4,263 deals, as eight decliners emerges.
The NSE All-Share Index rose 55 basis points to close at 37,709.20 points while year-to-date return expanded to 40.3 per cent.
Thus, investors gained N71bn as the NSE market capitalisation advanced to N13.132tn from N13.061tn. The major drivers of Wednesday’s performance were Nestle Nigeria Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc and Ecobank Transnational Incorporated Plc, which appreciated by 1.9 per cent, 1.2 per cent and 3.2 per cent, respectively.
However, activity level softened as volume and value traded fell by 59.9 per cent and 14.9 per cent to settle at 441.808 million units and N4.088bn, respectively.
Sector performance was largely positive as all indices gained, except the industrial goods index which declined by 0.7 per cent due to losses in Lafarge Africa Plc, which recorded a two per cent price decline.
Lafarge recently opened its rights issue at a subscription price of N42.50/share, 13.3 per cent discount to current share price (N49/share).
The insurance index emerged the top gainer, up by 1.4 per cent owing to upticks in AxaMansard Insurance Plc and Custodian and Allied Plc, which appreciated by 4.9 per cent and 0.8 per cent.
The banking index followed, rising by 1.1 per cent on account of sustained buying interest in Guaranty Trust Bank, Ecobank and Fidelity Bank Plc, which gained respectively by 1.2 per cent, 3.2 per cent and 9.9 per cent.
In the same vein, gains in Nestle and Unilever Nigeria Plc pushed the consumer goods index by one per cent higher while the oil/gas index’s 0.3 per cent was buoyed by price appreciation in Forte Oil Plc, which gained 4.9 per cent.
The best-performing stocks were Fidelity Bank, Champion Breweries Plc and FCMB Group Plc, which appreciated respectively by 9.9 per cent, 8.7 per cent and 7.5 per cent while the worst performers were Livestock Feeds Plc, Morison Industries Nigeria Plc and NPF Microfinance bank Plc, which shed 4.5 per cent, 3.5 per cent and 2.3 per cent, accordingly.
Commenting on the performance, analysts at Afrinvest Securities said, “Following the day’s positive performance and improved investor sentiment, we expect market performance in subsequent trading sessions to remain positive following increased buying interest in small and mid-cap stocks.”
