Investors Gain N252.41bn As Telcos Drive Stock Market Higher
MTN Nigeria Communications Plc and Airtel Africa Plc led the top five stocks by value at the end of trading on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange Limited on Tuesday, with investors gaining N252.41bn.
The NGX All-Share Index recorded a 1.12 per cent increase to close at 43,730.55 basis points, its highest so far in 2021, from 43,246.87bps on Monday.
The market capitalisation of stocks rose to N22.82tn from N22.57tn on Monday as investors pumped cash into the acquisition of the shares of MTN and Airtel, among others.
By value of shares traded, MTN led the charge as N1.08bn worth of its shares were exchanged on the floor of the NGX, accounting for 30.98 per cent of the total value of shares traded.
Zenith Bank Plc followed with N427.16m worth of its shares traded, while UACN Plc had their shares valued at N360.54m and N225.38m traded.
Measuring by volume, Sterling Bank Plc was the largest, accounting for 29.68 per cent of the total trades.
Analysing by sectors, the NGX Consumer Goods, Industrial Goods, Oil & Gas, and Banking indices appreciated by 0.21 per cent, 0.21 per cent, 0.12 per cent and 0.12 per cent respectively, while the NGX Insurance Index declined by 0.28 per cent.
Market activities were bearish as the total volume and value traded dipped by 36.72 per cent and 31.14 per cent, respectively.
A total of 280.71 million units valued at N3.48bn were transacted in 4,342 deals, compared to 443.61 million units worth N5.05bn in 5,233 deals on Monday.
The sentiment of the market, measured by the market breadth, was positive as 24 tickers gained as against 16 losers.
FTN Cocoa Processors Plc and Associated Bus Company Plc led the gainers as their share prices increased by 10 per cent each to close at N0.44 per share and N0.33 per share respectively.
Atop the losers’ chart was Berger Paints Plc with a 9.52 per cent drop to N8.55 per share.
Following closely was Caverton Offshore Support Group Plc with a 9.09 per cent decline, closing at N1.7 per share
