Following improved half-year (H1) earnings and interim dividend payout from tier-one banks, the Nigerian equities market reopened in an upbeat position yesterday as capitalisation rose by N264 billion.
At the close of transactions, the all-share index (ASI) rose by 481.43 points, representing a gain of 0.71 per cent to close at 67,877.17 points. Also, market capitalisation gained N264 billion to close at N 37.15 trillion.
United Bank for Africa (UBA), in its half-year result released last week, increased its interim dividend by 150 per cent to 50 kobo from 20 kobo in 2022. Also, Zenith Bank raised its dividend to 50 kobo, from 30 kobo paid in the previous year.
Yesterday’s upturn was driven by price appreciation in large and medium capitalised stocks amongst which are Airtel Africa, Stanbic IBTC Holdings, Transcorp Hotels, United Bank for Africa (UBA), and, Northern Nigeria Flour Mills (NNFM).
Looking ahead, United Capital Plc said: “We expect mixed investors’ sentiments toward listed corporate entities, with positive sentiments bordering on corporates with strong fundamentals and corporate actions.
Furthermore, we expect sustained positive sentiment toward the Tier-one Banks, considering the fantastic H1, 2023 earnings, and improved interim dividend declared by the Banks.
“However, we believe that provided the yields at the short end of the yield curve remain elevated, risk-averse investors will remain more inclined toward the money market. However, Fund Managers may continue cherry-picking stocks with strong fundamentals, particularly Banks with improved interim dividends.”
Vetiva Dealings and Brokerage said: “The market kicked off the week mixed, with large-cap counters supporting today’s gain (NGX30 index up 93bps d/d). We expect another mixed session tomorrow, with similar sentiments maintained across sectors.”
As measured by market breadth, market sentiment closed positive, as 29 stocks gained relative to 26 losers. Chams Holding Company, NNFM, and Oando emerged as the highest price gainers of 10 per cent each to close at N1.21 kobo, N14.85 kobo, and N12.10 kobo respectively.
Stanbic IBTC Holdings followed with a gain of 9.58 per cent to close at N75.50 kobo while Lasaco Assurance advanced by 9.38 per cent to close at N2.10 kobo.
On the other side, Omatek Ventures led others on the losers’ chart with 10 per cent to close at 36 kobo. Skyway Aviation Handling Company followed with a decline of 9.95 per cent to close at N25.35, while Beta Glass shed 9.93 per cent to close at N46.70 kobo.
Red Star Express lost 8.50 per cent to close at N2.8, while Courteville Business Solutions depreciated by 8.47 per cent to close at 54 kobo.
Also, the total volume traded increased by 26.03 per cent to 515.28 million units, valued at N8.926 billion, and exchanged in 8,357 deals. Transactions in the shares of United Bank for Africa led the activity with 109.473 million shares worth N1.934 billion.
Universal Insurance followed with an account of 65.402 million shares valued at N14.183 million, while Transnational Corporation (Transcorp) traded 42.307 million shares valued at N264.95 million.
Access Holdings traded 40.186 million shares worth N703.405 million, while Chams Holding Company traded 32.177 million shares worth N38.617 million.
