NSE LIVE! Equities record N18bn gain in 5th consecutive rally

Nigerian equities sustained their rally for the fifth consecutive trading session on Thursday as investors upped demand for large-cap stocks in the banking sector. Benchmark indices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed average gain of 0.19 per cent, equivalent to net capital gain of N18 billion.

Aggregate market value of all quoted equities rose from its opening value of N9.027 trillion to close at N9.045 trillion. The All Share Index (ASI)-the common value-based index that tracks prices at the stock market also rose correspondingly from opening index of 26,116.79 points to close at 26,166.80 points. The sustained rally further moderated the negative overhang with the average year-to-date return improving to -2.63 per cent.

Sectoral indices showed a largely positive overall market situation, although there appeared to be a shade of profit-taking. The NSE Consumer Goods Index rose by 0.3 per cent. The NSE Oil & Gas Index also appreciated by 0.3 per cent while the NSE Banking Index also inched up by 0.3 per cent. However, the NSE Industrial Goods Index dropped by 1.2 per cent while the NSE Insurance Index slipped by 1.0 per cent.

There were 26 gainers to 16 losers in the five hours of trading that saw leading banks dominating the activities chart. Breweries led the rally with Nigerian Breweries, the second most capitalised quoted company, gaining N3.99 to close at N128. Guinness Nigeria followed with a gain of N2 to close at N63. International Breweries added N1.66 to close at N19.50. Oando rose by 29 kobo to close at N6.83 while Zenith Bank chalked up 23 kobo to close at N15.93 per share.

Total turnover stood at 255.64 million shares valued at N2.45 billion in 5,106 deals. Zenith Bank was the most active stock with a turnover of 42.05 million shares valued at N661.6 million. FBN Holdings followed with 41.17 million shares worth N145.69 million while United Bank for Africa placed third with 24.9 million shares valued at N159.3 million.

On the negative side, Stanbic IBTC Holdings led the losers with a loss of N2.64 to close at N24.81. Lafarge Africa followed with a loss of N1.32 to close at N49.60. Unilever Nigeria dropped by 50 kobo to N33. Flour Mills of Nigeria lost 48 kobo to rose at N17.50while Forte Oil declined by 44 kobo to close at N43.56 per share.

“Considering the positive momentum witnessed since the start of the week, we expect the market to close the week positive; however, we do not rule out the possibility of some “end of the week” profit-taking by investors in the trading session ahead,” Afrinvest Securities stated.

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