By Habibatu Aliu
The Nigerian equities market extended bullish sentiments to commence trading for February in an upbeat yesterday, as investors’ wealth increased by N142 billion.
At the close of transactions yesterday on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), the All Share Index (ASI) rose by 261.01 absolute points, representing a gain of 0.5 percent to close at 53,499.68 points. Accordingly, investors gained N142 billion in value as market capitalization went up to N29.140 trillion.
The upturn was impacted by gains recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are; Seplat Energy, Nestle Nigeria, Geregu Power, Nigerian Exchange Group, and Stanbic IBTC Holdings.
Analysts at GTI Securities Limited said: “We expect positive sentiment to be sustained as investors continue to pile into defensive and financial stocks.”
Vetiva Dealings and Brokerage said: “We have continued to see mixed reactions to the earnings reports released so far, with the likes of STANBIC and FCMB beating our estimates, while investors sell off Guinness. Also, with MTNN hitting the ₦2 trillion mark in revenue, we expect to see increased buy-interest in the stock tomorrow. “
Market breadth closed flat with 20 gainers and 20 losers. Industrial and Medical Gas Nigeria and Seplat Energy recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent each to close at N7.70 and N1,210 respectively, while Northern Nigeria Flour Mills (NNFM) followed with a gain 9.46 per cent to close at N8.10 kobo.
International Energy Insurance went up by 9.33 per cent to close at 82 kobos, while Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) appreciated by 9.26 per cent to close at N8.85 kobo.
On the other hand, Guinness Nigeria led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent to close at N63.00, per share. Ardova followed with a decline of 9.95 per cent to close at N17.20, while Academy Press went down by 9.85 to close at N1.19 kobo.
R.T. Briscoe Nigeria lost 9.68 per cent to close at 28 kobos, while Cornerstone Insurance shed 8.33 per cent to close at 55 kobos.
However, the total volume traded decreased by 19.91 per cent to 200.368 million shares, worth N5.524 billion, and traded in 3,716 deals. Transactions in the shares of Universal Insurance topped the activity chart with 57.785 million shares valued at N11.557 million.
Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) followed with 16.607 million shares worth N415.176 million, while United Bank for Africa (UBA) traded 11.152 million shares valued at N91.379 million.
Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) traded 8.798 million shares valued at N10.913 million, while Geregu Power transacted 8.482 million shares worth N1.634 billion.
