By Habibat Aliu
The bulls resurfaced in the equities sector of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) yesterday, occasioned by buying interest in Geregu Power Plc and 17 others stocks, causing market capitalisation to appreciate by N34 billion.
At the close of transactions yesterday, the All Share Index (ASI), which measures the performance of quoted companies, rose by 63.01 points, representing an increase of 0.12 per cent to close at 52,657.69 points. Also, the overall market capitalisation value gained N34 billion to close at N28.681 trillion.
The upturn was impacted by gains recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are; Geregu Power, Guinness Nigeria, Berger Paints Nigeria, Multiverse Mining & Exploration, and Zenith Bank.
On the market outlook for the week, analysts at United Capital Plc said “At current levels, we caution investors that the equities market is due a breather and thus we anticipate some of the profit taking that started last week will continue into this week’s sessions.
“Nevertheless, we view this as an opportunity to buy attractive stocks on dips as we retain the view that depressed interest rate levels will sustain the fuel for an equity market uptrend in Q1, 2023.”
Vetiva Dealing and Brokerage said, “We are likely to see the bears dominate tomorrow’s session, with sectoral indices closing mixed. Also, we expect activity level to remain subdued barring large cross trades in any of the high cap names.”
Investor sentiment, as measured by market breadth, closed positive with 18 stocks gained, while 13 declined.
On the price movement chart, John Holt recorded the highest price gain of 9.38 per cent to close at N1.05 kobo. Secure Electronic Technology followed with a gain of 9.09 per cent to close at 24 kobos, while Chams rose by 7.69 per cent to close at 28 kobos.
Geregu Power went up by 6.92 per cent to close at N148.40 kobo, while Associated Bus Company appreciated by 6.90 per cent to close at 31 kobo.
On the other hand, Cornerstone Insurance led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent to close at 54 kobos. Computer Warehouse Group (CWG) followed with a decline of 9.62 per cent to close at 94 kobos, while Japaul Gold & Ventures declined by 6.67 per cent to close at 28 kobos.
Unity Bank depreciated by 5.17 per cent to close at 55 kobos, while Courteville Business Solutions also declined by 4.00 per cent to close at 48 kobos.
However, the total volume of trades decreased by 67.61 per cent to 143.736 million units, valued at N1.776 billion, and exchanged in 4,078 deals.
Transactions in the shares of FBN Holdings (FBNH) topped the activity chart with 19.656 million shares valued at N229.718 million. Chams followed with 11.218 million shares worth N3.110 million, while Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) traded 10.990 million shares valued at N264.993 million.
Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) traded 10.574 million shares valued at N12.814 million, while Sterling Bank transacted 10.201 million shares worth N15.933 million.
