Investors Gain N103bn As Stock Hits Two-week High

Nigerian stocks closed with a market capitalisation of N20.03tn on Tuesday, its highest in two weeks as investors gained N103.23bn at the end of trading.

The Nigerian Exchange Limited All-Share Index rose by 0.52 per cent to close at 38,418.04 basis points from 38,220.01bps on Monday.

The volume of shares traded rose by 2.23 per cent as 288.93 million shares valued at N2.42bn were traded in 4,640 deals, compared to 282.62 million shares worth N1.87bn transacted in 4,788 deals on Monday.

At the end of trading on the floor of the NGX, 28 companies saw an increase in their share prices, with May & Baker Nigeria Plc leading the gainers’ chart as its share price rose by 9.65 per cent to N4.43.

UACN Property Development Company Plc followed as it jumped by 9.57 per cent to close at N1.03 per share. Other top gainers included Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc, University Press Plc and Berger Paints Plc.

Ten companies, led by Eterna Plc, recorded price losses at the end of trading on the floor of the NGX.

Eterna dropped by 9.73 per cent to close at N6.77 per share. It was followed by Linkage Assurance Plc, which saw fell by 9.41 per cent to N0.77 per share. Unity Bank Plc, Coronation Insurance Plc and Jaiz Bank Plc were the other top losers for the day.

Data from Cordros Securities showed that the year-to-date market return dropped by 4.60 per cent while month-to-date and week-to-date returns rose by 1.35 per cent and 0.54 per cent each.

The top five trades by value were Seplat at N418.50m, Zenith Bank Plc at N280.97m, FBN Holdings Plc at N242.56m, United Bank for Africa Plc at N174.87m and Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc at N164.03m. Fidelity Bank Plc led the chart by volume as 42.07 million of its shares were traded, followed by FBN Holdings Plc with 32.41 million shares traded.

Other top trades by volume were UBA, Access Bank Plc and Wema Bank Plc with 22.74 million, 13.76 million and 11.67 million shares respectively.