The Nigerian Equities Market closed positive as bulls raised the market’s overall value by 6 basis points on Wednesday to sustain positive sentiment across the Exchange following the inauguration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The new president of Nigeria had promised to rejig the economy and force tough changes across the length and breadth of the nation.

Being the final trading day of the month, the All-share Index (ASI) rose by 0.06% to close at 55,769.29 points, showing gains of 5.98% over the previous week, 6.64% over the previous four weeks, and 8.82% over the entire year.

A total of 117 NGX listed securities participated in trading on the market, with 29 gainers and 39 losers at the close. With a share price increase of 10%, McNichols led the gainers, finishing at N0.77 per share. Veritas Kapital Assurance was up by 10%, Jaiz Bank was up by 10%, and Conoil was up by 9.96%.

On the losing side, National Salt Company finished last with a 9.79% price decline at the day’s conclusion to close at N15.20 per share. RT Briscoe was next with a 9.76% decline while Glaxo Smithkline Consumer ended the day with a 9.58% decline, and Caverton Offshore Support Group followed with a 9.35% decline.

With a total of 98.7 million shares traded, Access Holdings had the most activity, followed by United Bank for Africa (90.2 million), Zenith Bank (44.5 million), and Guaranty Trust Holding (39.6 million).

NGX Banking, NGX Consumer Goods, NGX Oil and Gas, NGX Insurance and NGX Industrial indexes posted -2.46%, +2.08%, +1.63%, -2.52% and -0.19%, respectively. Other remarkable indices that performed were the NGX Top 30 Index (-0.07% Day Change; +6.34% One Week; +9.69% Year To Date), NGX Top 50 Index (-1.23% Day Change; +6.31% One Week; +16.46% Year To Date) and NGX Main Board Index (+0.36% Day Change; +4.43% One Week; +3.91% Year To Date).

A total of 661,509,042 shares were exchanged in 10,024 transactions for a market value of N18,998,227,156.83. Data reveals a 39% reduction in volume, a 20% improvement in turnover, and a 1% improvement in deals when compared to the prior NGX trading day. The Nigerian Stock Exchange now has a market value of N 30.4 trillion.

Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc has announced dividend payments to shareholders after the completion of a transformative scheme.

The announcement comes as a result of the Court Ordered meeting held on September 19, 2022, which approved the Scheme of Arrangement between Sterling Bank Plc and its shareholders.

Under the scheme, Sterling Bank Plc transferred its 28,790,418,124 fully paid-up ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each to Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc (Holdco), establishing Holdco as the sole shareholder of the Bank.

This development also led to the delisting of the Bank’s shares from the Daily Official List of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on April 6, 2023.

The Bank, now re-registered as a private company at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), is preparing for its Annual General Meeting scheduled for Today, May 31, 2023.

As part of the process, the Bank will be paying a dividend of 15 kobo per ordinary share of 50 kobo each to Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc, which is entitled to the dividend as the sole beneficial shareholder.

Following the receipt of the dividend from the Bank, Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc will issue its Interim accounts and distribute the received amount as Interim Dividend to the shareholders listed in the Register of Members as of the close of business on May 19, 2023.

The company has assured shareholders that the obligation to pay the 15 kobo dividend will be fully discharged in accordance with the terms and conditions outlined.

To keep shareholders informed about the progress, Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc has committed to providing updates on the dividend payment date no later than June 20, 2023.

The company secretary, Temitayo Adegoke, stated in the announcement that the dividend distribution would be executed in line with the disclosed terms and conditions.

Nigerian investors seem excited about the Presidency of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) grew by 5.22% on Tinubu’s promises.

The new president had promised to put an end to subsidies and channel the over N50 billion spent on oil subsidy on infrastructure and other developmental projects.

Tinubu, who also promised to ensure a friendly business environment, said he would rejig the nation’s economy to ensure at least a 6% minimum economic growth rate, converge the foreign exchange rates, improve electricity supply, and address multiple taxes, among others.

Nigerian investors that have been looking for a lifeline following eight years of vague economic policies and sluggish growth jump on stocks, one of the key indicators of an economy.

The volume of stocks traded jumped 133.49% while the value traded grew by 106.07% to $33.99 million in the very first trading session under Tinubu’s led administration.

The NGX All-Share Index gained 5.23% to close the day at 55,745.74 index points as a total of 65 stocks gained, against 12 that lost points. The market value of listed equities also grew by 5.23% to N30.353 trillion.

This positive movement is the largest seen in the last 30 months and the second largest in the last 7 years.

Bullish trends were most conspicuous in the banking sector with the index appreciating by 8.20% on the back of a positive run in First Bank of Nigeria Holdings to N13.50, United Bank for Africa to N10.20, Airtel to N1125, Stanbic to N40.00 and Nestle closed at N1,125.