Unity Bank, Oando, Skye Bank Lift Stock Market

• Unity Bank, Oando, Skye Bank Lift Stock Market

The market capitalisation of listed equities on the Nigerian Stock Exchange rose by N93bn on Tuesday as 33 stocks led by Unity Bank Plc, Oando Plc and Skye Bank Plc recorded price appreciation.

The NSE All-Share Index gained 0.63 per cent to close at 40,788.68 basis points on Tuesday from 40,533.37 basis points the previous day.

The market capitalisation stood at N14.734tn at the close of trading on Tuesday, up from N14.641tn on Monday.

Unity Bank, which led the gainers’ table, appreciated by 9.48 per cent to close at N1.27 per share, while Oando rose by 9.27 per cent to N8.25 per share.

Skye Bank saw its share price appreciating by 9.09 per cent to close at N0.98 from N0.88 on Monday. The bank had recorded price growth in recent days as it rose by 4.61 per cent on April 11 to close at N0.68 per share. It closed at N0.80 per last week.

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc increased by 8.45 per cent to N34 per share; Julius Berger Nigeria Plc gained 8.13 per cent to close at N25.95 per share; while Regency Alliance Insurance Plc rose by 7.14 per cent to N0.30 per share.

Other gainers on Tuesday included Diamond Bank Plc, FCMB Group Plc, Beta Glass Plc and Fidelity Bank Plc.

Eighteen stocks recorded losses, with Fidson Healthcare Plc, A.G. Leventis Nigeria Plc, Sterling Bank Plc, Wema Bank Plc and Okomu Oil Palm Company Plc leading the pack.

Fidson shed five per cent to close at N5.51 per share, while A.G. Leventis was down by 4.84 per cent to close at N0.59 per share.

Sterling Bank eased to N1.62 per share on Tuesday from N1.70 on Monday; Wema Bank lost 4.35 per cent to close at N0.88 per share, while Okomu Oil decreased by 4.11 per cent to N73.50 per share.

A total of 1.602 billion shares worth N10.91bn were traded in 4,729 deals on Tuesday, compared to 192.494 million shares worth N3.127bn traded in 3,917 deals the previous day.

Oando said its decision to fully cooperate with the Securities and Exchange Commission to ensure a smooth and speedy conclusion of the investigation into the company as well as its efforts to reconcile with the aggrieved petitioners were gradually paying off.

It noted in a statement that its shares had recorded 38 per cent increase in four days of trading on the stock market after the technical suspension was lifted.

“The company’s shares have also commenced trading on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, meaning that shareholders on both sides of the world can finally benefit from the positive operations of the company,” Oando said.

The statement quoted one of Oando shareholders with the New Dimension Shareholders Association, Mr. Patrick Ajudua, as saying, “My hope and that of the members of my association is that SEC will conclude the forensic audit as soon as possible so that the company can focus on its business operations.”