NSE LIVE! Equities rally N72bn gain in renewed bargain-hunting

Quoted equities broke the stalemate that marked transactions on Tuesday into a decisive rally on Wednesday as investors stepped up bargain-hunting for value stocks across the key sectors of the economy.

Benchmark indices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed an average gain of 0.81 per cent on Wednesday, equivalent to net capital gain of N72 billion. High and medium-priced stocks in the oil and gas, banking and industrial goods sectors led the rally.

Aggregate market value of all quoted equities rose from its opening value of N8.742 trillion to close at N8.814 trillion. The All Share Index (ASI)-the common value-based index that tracks prices at the Exchange, increased from opening index of 25,266.15 points to close at 25,471.69 points. The rally helped to moderate the negative average year-to-date return to -5.22 per cent.

All sectoral indices also closed on the positive side, illustrating the widespread buying sentiments that dominated transactions. The NSE Industrial Goods Index rose by 4.4 per cent. The NSE Oil & Gas Index rallied by 3.3 per cent. The NSE Banking Index appreciated by 1.2 per cent. The NSE Consumer Goods Index and the NSE Insurance Index inched up by 0.1 per cent each.

There were 23 gainers against 15 losers during the five-hour trading session. Mobil Oil Nigeria led the rally with a gain of N32.28 to close at N347.28. Seven-Up Bottling Company followed with a gain of N8.89 to close at N95.89. Lafarge Africa rose by N4.42 to close at N47.62. Forte Oil added N1 to close at N46. Oando chalked up 53 kobo to close at N5.78. Stanbic IBTC Holdings garnered 50 kobo to close at N18.50 while Guaranty Trust Bank added 33 kobo to close at N24.50.

On the negative side, PZ Cussons led the losers with a loss of 72 kobo to close at N13.87. Ecobank Transnational Incorporated declined by 39 kobo to close at N8.05. Nigerian Breweries lost 20 kobo to close at N124.80. UAC of Nigeria declined by 11 kobo to close at N15.01 while Trans Nationwide Express slipped by 8.0 kobo to close at 91 kobo per share.

Total turnover stood at 158.70 million shares valued at N1.13 billion in 3,048 deals. Banking stocks dominated the top activity chart. Fidelity Bank was the most traded bank with 49.42 million shares worth N39.09 million. Zenith Bank followed with 24.34 million shares worth N351.75 million while United Bank for Africa placed third with 10.52 million shares valued at N55.2 million.

“Value investing in stocks trading at attractive prices, as against short term speculative moves, prompted the strong gains recorded today and we expect the sentiment to prevail in subsequent trading session. We draw our conclusion from the impressive market breadth and strong order flow,” Afrinvest Securities stated in a post-trading note.

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