Investors Gain N145bn As Market Rebounds
Investors in the nation’s stock market have gained a total of N145bn as the market witnessed a rebound on Thursday.
The market capitalisation of equities listed on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange increased from N13.281tn on Wednesday to N13.426tn on Thursday.
Analysts at Afrinvest Securities Limited said the bullish performance in the market was due to major gains recorded in Nestlé Nigeria Plc, Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc and Access Bank Plc.
The All Share Index increased by 1.09 per cent to settle at 27,579.85bps, which eased the year-to-date loss to -12.3 per cent.
Activity level waned as volume and value traded declined by 60.3 per cent and 63.1 per cent to 183.466 million units and N2.926bn, respectively.
The top traded stocks by volume were Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (98.4 million units), Access Bank Plc (40.7 million units) and FBN Holdings Plc (40.1 million units), while GTB (N2.8bn), Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc (N388.2m) and Access Bank (N314.5m) were the top traded stocks by value.
Across sectors, performance was bullish as all indices gained.
The oil and gas and consumer goods indices led gainers, up by 5.70 per cent and 4.85 per cent, respectively, due to price appreciation in Seplat Petroleum, Total Nigeria Plc, Nestlé and Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc.
The insurance index trailed, up by 3.58 per cent as boosted by major gains in Continental Reinsurance Pl and NEM Insurance Plc.
Gains in Access Bank and FBN Holdings pushed the banking index 0.51 per cent higher.
Similarly, buying interest in Cutix Plc pushed the industrial index up by 0.02 per cent.
The AFR-ICT index closed flat.
Investor sentiment strengthened as market breadth (advance/decline ratio) strengthened to 2.3x from 0.9x recorded on Wednesday as 16 stocks gained against seven stocks that lost.
The top gainers were Nestlé, Total Nigeria, Seplat Petroleum, Continental Reinsurance and Cornerstone Insurance Plc, which saw gains of 10 per cent, 10 per cent, 10 per cent, 9.88 per cent and 9.52 per cent, respectively.
The top losers were Forte Oil Plc, Honeywell Flour Mills Plc, Custodian Investment Plc, Chams Plc and Fidelity Bank Plc, whose respective share prices depreciated by 6.78 per cent, 5.94 per cent, 4.76 per cent, 4.17 per cent and 1.19 per cent.
“In the absence of any major stimulus, we expect a bearish performance for the rest of the week. Nonetheless, we see opportunities for bargain hunting in stocks with sound fundamentals,” analysts at Afrinvest Securities said.
