Equities Gain N11bn, Pharma-Deko Recorded N6.92m Q3 Loss
Equities, on Monday, closed in the green as the Nigerian Stock Exchange market capitalisation appreciated by N11bn.
A total of 500.192 million shares worth N6.356bn exchanged hands in 4,966 deals.
The All-Share Index closed the trading day at 37,974.58 basis points, adding 8bps to open the week in the green. This marked the fourth consecutive day of a positive close.
The NSE year-to-date return expanded to 41.3 per cent as market cap increased to settle at N13.2tn.
Meanwhile, Pharma-Deko Plc reported a third quarter loss before tax of N6.92m for the quarter ended September 30, 2017.
The company had reported N110.3m in the same period of last year.
Its revenue for the quarter stood at N1.10bn compared to N743.9m for the same period of 2016.
Monday’s positive performance at the NSE was driven by buying interest in consumer goods stocks. Nestle Nigeria Plc, Nigerian Breweries Nigeria Plc and FBN Holdings Plc appreciated respectively by 1.2 per cent, 0.9 per cent and 2.5 per cent.
However, activity level was mixed as volume traded marginally inched one per cent higher to 500.192 million units while value traded declined by 11.4 per cent to N6.356bn.
Sector performance was mixed with three of the five major NSE indices appreciating and the other two indices plummeting. The consumer good index appreciated the most, up by 0.4 per cent owing to gains in Nestle and Nigerian Breweries.
In the same vein, the insurance and industrial goods Indices followed, rising by 0.2 per cent and 0.1 per cent consequent on buying interest in Linkage Assurance Plc, AIICO Insurance Plc and Dangote Cement Plc, which gained 4.8 per cent, 1.8 per cent and 0.3 per cent, accordingly.
On the flip side, the losers were the banking and oil/gas indices, which dropped by 0.6 per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively. The banking index was dragged by losses in Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc and Zenith Bank Plc, which shed 0.7 per cent, 1.9 per cent and 0.3 per cent, accordingly while the oil/gas index closed lower on account of price depreciation in Mobil Nigeria Plc, Forte Oil Nigeria Plc and Total Nigeria Plc, which dropped respectively by 4.7 per cent, 2.2 per cent and 0.4 per cent.
Source: PUNCH
