NSE LIVE! Equities rebound with N28bn gain

Nigerian equities on Tuesday rode on the back of increased bargain-hunting to recover from initial downtrend that started the week.

Benchmark indices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed a largely positive market situation, with more advancers than decliners and average level of activities.

With 23 advancers to 17 decliners, average day-on-day return stood at 0.22 per cent on Tuesday, equivalent to net capital gain of N28 billion. This nudged the average year-to-date return to 37..73 per cent.

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The All Share Index (ASI)-the value-based common index that tracks share prices at the NSE, trended upward to 37,013.57 points as against its opening index of 36,930.83 points. Aggregate market value of all quoted equities also rose from its opening value of N12.782 trillion to close at N12.810 trillion.

Sectoral indices showed a tight market situation as investors continue to realign their portfolios. The NSE Industrial Goods Index and NSE Banking Index appreciated by 0.5 per cent each while the NSE Insurance Index closed flat. However, the NSE Consumer Goods Index declined by 0.7 per cent while the NSE Oil & Gas Index dipped by 0.2 per cent.

Total Nigeria led the advancers with a gain of N5 to close at N230. Dangote Cement followed with a gain of N2 to close at N229. UAC of Nigeria rose by 72 kobo to close at N19.10. Guaranty Trust Bank added 28 kobo to close at N42.03 while Dangote Sugar Refinery appreciated by 15 kobo to close at N15.50.

On the negative side, Mobil Oil Nigeria led the decliners with a loss of N8.02 to close at N153.01. International Breweries followed with a drop of N4.20 to close at N41. Nigerian Breweries declined by 89 kobo to close at N144.10. NASCON Allied Industries dropped by 48 kobo to close at N15.52 while Eterna slipped by 19 kobo to close at N4.16 per share.

Total turnover stood at 305.17 million shares worth N2.91 billion in 4,399 deals. Diamond Bank was the most active stock with a turnover of 83.12 million shares valued at N98.16 million. Diamond Bank has been on a rally since last week’s announcement of the sale of its banking operations in other African countries. Fidelity Bank was the second most active stock with 39.92 million shares worth N66.27 million while Cadbury Nigeria traded 37.85 million shares valued at N391.72 million.

“Given today’s performance and improved market breadth, we expect market performance and sentiment in the short term to stay positive as investors continue to react to favourable developments in the Oil market and positive outlook for earnings,” Afrinvest Securities stated.

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