Investors Gain N120.5bn as Stocks Rise Further

• Investors Gain N120.5bn as Stocks Rise Further

Investors in the nation’s stock market gained N120.5bn on Wednesday as the market sustained its bullish run for five consecutive days.

The market capitalisation of equities listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange increased from N11.238tn on Tuesday to N11.359tn on Wednesday, while the All Share Index rose by 1.07 per cent to 30,460.68 basis points.

Analysts at Afrinvest Securities Limited said the gains recorded on Wednesday were driven by price appreciation in Dangote Cement Plc, Guinness Nigeria Plc and United Bank for Africa Plc.

The gains moderated the market’s year-to-date loss to -3.1 per cent, while investor sentiment strengthened to 1.5x from 1.4x on Tuesday.

Activity level on Wednesday was mixed as volume traded increased by 1.9 per cent to 305.802 million units, while value traded declined by 35.3 per cent to N2.102bn.

The top traded stocks by volume were Diamond Bank Plc (141.2 million units), Fidelity Bank Plc (18.6 million units) and Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (17.4 million units) while the top traded stocks by value were GTB (N577.7m), Zenith Bank (N357.1m) and Diamond Bank (N296.6m).

Performance across sectors was mixed as three indices closed in the green.

The insurance index led the gainers with a 2.32 per cent gain; the industrial goods index rose by 1.70 per cent, and the consumer goods index advanced by 0.24 per cent.

On the flip side, the banking sector was the major loser, with a 0.68 per cent depreciation, while the oil and gas index shed 0.01 per cent.

At the end of trading on Wednesday, 24 stocks advanced against 16 losers.

The top five gainers were Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc, Guinness, Honeywell Flour Mill and NEM Insurance, whose share prices gained 10 per cent, 10 per cent, 9.65 per cent, 9.57 per cent and 9.57 per cent, respectively.

The worst-performing stocks were Beta Glass Plc, Northern Nigeria Flour Mills Plc, Resort Savings and Loans Plc, PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc and Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals Plc, whose respective share prices declined by 10 per cent, 9.20 per cent, 8.82 per cent, 8.33 per cent and 4.69 per cent.

“We are cautiously optimistic of the positive sentiment we observed in the last five trading sessions; hence, we recommend strategic investment in fundamentally sound stocks in the short to medium term,” Afrinvest analysts said.