Stock Investors Gain N390bn, Market Cap Almost N19trn

Equity trading on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, on Thursday, closed on a positive note with a gain of N390bn as the bulls recaptured trading activities.

The key market performance indices, NSE All-Share Index, appreciated by 2.10 per cent with market breadth closing positive with 30 gainers as against 17 losers.

The ASI rose by 746.47 basis points or 2.10 per cent to close at 36,239. 62 index points as against 35,493.15 recorded the previous day.

The market capitalisation of equities appreciated by N390bn or 2.10 per cent to close higher at N18.94tn from N18.55tn as market sentiment remained on the green territory.

Meanwhile, a turnover of 343.64m shares in 3,896 deals was recorded in the day’s trading.

The premium subsector was the most active (measured by turnover volume); with 167.92m shares exchanged by investors in 1,414 deals.

Volume in the subsector was driven by activities in the shares of FBN Holdings Plc and United Bank for Africa Plc.

The banking subsector was boosted by the activities in the shares of Fidelity Bank Plc and Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, with a turnover of 36.68 million shares in 632 deals.

Further analysis of the day’s trading showed that Airtel Africa Plc topped the gainers’ table with 10 per cent to close at N774.40 per share while ARDOVA Plc followed with 9.96 per cent to close at N13.25 per share and FTN Cocoa Plc with a gain of 9.62 per cent to close at 57 kobo per share.

On the other hand, Omatek Plc and Wapic Insurance Plc led the losers’ chart with a drop of 9.09 per cent each to close at 20 kobo and 40 kobo per share respectively. Champion Breweries Nigeria Plc followed with a loss of 8.99 per cent to close at 81 kobo per share while UPL Plc dropped by 7.25 per cent to close at N1.28 per share.