FOLLOWING price appreciation recorded by many bluechip stocks, especially BUA Cement and MRS Oil Nigeria, transactions on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) rebounded yesterday, as market capitalisation increased by N355 billion.
At the close of transactions, the All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 646.76 points, representing a gain of 0.97 per cent to close at 67, 101.33 points. Also, market capitalisation gained N355 billion to close at N36.865 trillion.
The upturn was driven by price appreciation in large and medium-capitalised stocks amongst which are; BUA Cement, MRS Oil Nigeria, Nigerian Breweries, Dangote Sugar Refinery, and Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO).
United Capital Plc Analysts said: “We expect the renewed buy-interests across the equities market to linger. We anticipate investors taking positions ahead of the Q3, 2023 earnings season as corporates are set to release impressive financials. Hence, we recommend cherry-picking activities around fundamentally sound stocks with solid performance.”
To analysts at Afrinvest, “Investors sentiments as measured by my market breadth improved to 0.08x from -0.07 in the prior session as stocks advanced while 23 declined. We expect the market to sustain the positive performance in tomorrow’s trading session due to improved investors sentiments.”
Vetiva Dealings and Brokerage, said: “We expect a similar tepid session, with trades in the banking sector dominating activity. Four out of the top five trades by value were all Tier-I banks, with trades worth ₦1.4 billion in Accessory, UBA, Zenith Bank, and GTCO accounting for 41 per cent of the day’s transaction value.
Investor sentiment, as measured by market breadth closed positive as 26 stocks advanced, while 23 declined. BUA Cement emerged as the highest price gainer of 10 per cent to close at N103.40 kobo. Consolidated Hallmark Insurance followed with a gain of 9.80 per cent to close at N1.12 kobo while Nigerian Breweries rose by 9.09 per cent to close at N42.
John Holt increased by 8.11 per cent to close at N1.60 kobo while SUNU Assurance appreciated by 7.22 per cent to close at N1.04 kobo. Conversely, Prestige Assurance led the losers’ chart with 10 per cent to close at 45 kobo. FTN Cocoa Processors followed with a decline of 8.33 per cent to close at N1.65 kobo while Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals shed 7.74 per cent to close at N1.55 kobo.
Sovereign Trust Insurance depreciated by 5.00 per cent to close at 38 kobo, while eTranzact International was down by 4.26 per cent to close at N9.
The total volume traded dipped by 28.18 per cent to 268.664 million units, valued at N3.464 billion, and exchanged in 6,911 deals.
Transactions in the shares of Associated Bus Company led the activity with 29.269 million shares worth N19.908 million. Access Holdings followed with 29.172 million shares valued at N465.977 million, while Oando traded 27.090 million shares valued at N252.976 million.
United Bank for Africa (UBA) traded 23.752 million shares worth N407.671 million, while Transnational Corporation (Transcorp) traded 23.735 million shares worth N149510 million.
