Bulls Sustain Rhythm As Stocks Gain N33bn

Bullish sentiment persisted on the Nigerian equities market yesterday with a gain of N33 billion, following bargain hunting in Nigerian Breweries Plc and 20 others.

Consequently, the All Share Index (ASI) rose by 61.90 absolute points, representing a gain of 0.12 per cent to close at 51,657.56 points. Accordingly, investors gained N33 billion in value as market capitalisation went up to N28.136 trillion.

The upturn was impacted by gains recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are; Nigerian Breweries, Flour Mills of Nigeria, BUA Foods, Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) and Fidelity Bank.

On market outlook, analysts at GTI Securities Limited said “we expect positive sentiments to continue in the new year given the renewed attractiveness of the sectors.”

Market breadth closed positive as 21 stocks posted gains while 12 stocks posted declines. NAHCO, Nigerian Breweries and LivingTrust Mortgage Bank recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent each to close at N7.70, N45.10 and N1.76 respectively, per share. FCMB Group followed with a gain 9.97 per cent to close at N3.86, while Fidelity Bank went up by 9.86 per cent to close at N4.79, per share.

Japaul Gold & Ventures went up by 7.41 per cent to close at 29 kobo, while Royal Exchange appreciated by 7.41 per cent to close at 29 kobo, per share. On the other hand, Champion Breweries led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent to close at N4.95, per share. Unity Bank followed with a decline of 6.78 per cent to close at 55 kobo, while  Unity Bank for Africa (UBA) went down by 3.61 to close at N8.00, per share.

Jaiz Bank lost 3.33 per cent to close at 87 kobo, while Consolidated Hallmark Insurance shed 2.99 per cent to close at 65 kobo, per share.

The total volume traded fell by 17.4 per cent to 265.726 million shares, worth N13.529 billion, and traded in 4,156 deals. Transactions in the shares of BUA Cement topped the activity chart with 101.654 million shares valued at N9.851 billion. Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) followed with 32.770 million shares worth N37.144 million, while Access Holdings traded 22.956 million shares valued at N199.941 million.

Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) traded 12.227 million shares valued at N284.428 million, while UBA transacted 12.214 million shares worth N99.413 million.