Market Extends Gains By N370bn On Banking Stocks

The Nigerian equities market closed on a positive note with a gain of N370 billion due to share price appreciation in some banking stocks.
The All Share Index (ASI) gained by 576.27 points, representing a growth of 0.28 per cent to close at 203,161.81 points. Also, market capitalisation gained N370 billion to close at N130.774 trillion.
The upturn was impacted by gains recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are; Nestle Nigeria, Aradel Holdings, Nigerian Exchange Group, Zenith Bank and Lafarge Africa.
On market outlook, Cowry Assets Management Limited said, “ahead of Friday’s session, the market is expected to face mild headwinds as end-of-week profit-taking activities weigh on sentiment.”
Market breadth was evenly balanced, as 30 advancers were matched by 30 decliners. Trans-Nationwide Express recorded the highest price gain of 9.94 per cent to close at N3.43, per share. International Energy Insurance followed with a gain of 9.84 per cent to close at N3.46, while Guinea Insurance rose by 9.52 per cent to close at N1.15, per share.
Regency Alliance Insurance up by 9.18 per cent to close at N1.07, while Wapic Insurance appreciated by 9.09 per cent to close at N3.24, per share.
On the other hand, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent to close at N4.32, per share. R.T. Briscoe followed with a decline of 9.94 per cent to close at N8.88, while Tantalizer declined by 9.55 per cent to close at N3.98, per share.
Livestock Feeds depreciated by 9.40 per cent to close at N6.75, while VFD Group declined by 8.85 per cent to close at N10.30, per share.
Meanwhile, the total volume traded decreased by 35.17 per cent to 652.863 million units, valued at N39.820 billion, and exchanged in 51,101 deals. Transactions in the shares of Access Holdings topped the activity chart with 121.702 million shares valued at N3.165 billion. Guaranty Trust Holding Company followed with 62.274 million shares worth N8.096 billion, while Chams Holding Company traded 60.724 million shares valued at N187.417 million.
Zenith Bank traded 43.709 million shares valued at N4.879 billion, while United Bank for Africa (UBA) sold 29.031 million shares worth N1.331 billion.