Stocks Up By N107bn To Begin Week Positive

Trading activities in the Nigeria stock market yesterday closed positive with N107 billion gain to commence trading activities for the week.

Accordingly, the All Share Index (ASI) gained by 186.16 points, representing a growth of 0.19 per cent to close at 97,706.70 points. Also, market capitalisation gained N107 billion to close at N56.146 trillion.

The upturn was impacted by gains recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are; Dangote Sugar Refinery, Oando, Fidelity Bank, MTN Nigeria Communications (MTNN) and United Bank for Africa (UBA).

Looking ahead, United Capital Plc said “we expect mixed sentiments to persist in the equities market. As a result of the stubborn nature of inflation (particularly fuelled by elevated exchange rate environment), the MPC hiked 50bps.

To him,  “We expect this hike to play a background role in the market, with investors and equity-based fund managers adopting a more cautious approach to trading.”

They noted that “this approach involves a strict restriction of trading activities to only equities with solid fundamentals who are set for sustained profitability in full year 2024 financials.

“In the same vein, corporates with pending corporate actions will continue to outperform, presenting trading opportunities. Fund managers/traders may consider improving cash positions, to trade market volatilities.”

As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was positive, as 28 stocks gained relative to 24 losers. Fidelity Bank recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent to close at N14 30, while ABC Transport and Livestock Feeds followed with a gain of 9.76 per cent each to close at N1.35 and N3.60, per share.

Regency Alliance Insurance went up by 8.70 per cent to close at 60 kobo, while Ellah Lakes appreciated by 8.44 per cent to close at N4.88, per share. On the other hand, SCOA Nigeria led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent, to close at N1.71, per share. Berger Paints Nigeria followed with a decline of 9.95 per cent to close at N19.00, while Tripple Gee and Company declined by 9.64 per cent to close at N2.25, per share.

Guinea Insurance depreciated by 8.33 per cent to close at 44 kobo, while Thomas Wyatt Nigeria declined by 7.58 per cent to close at N2.83,, per share.

The total volume traded rose by 308.08 per cent to 315.69 million units, valued at N4.03 billion, and exchanged in 5,847 deals. Transactions in the shares of Tantalizer topped the activity chart with 1.000 billion shares valued at N450.634 million. UBA followed with 38.119 million shares worth N1.062 billion, while Access Holdings traded 23.358 million shares valued at N459.727 million.

Caverton Offshore Support Group traded 21.633 million shares valued at N56.605 million, while Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) sold 16.030 million shares worth N776.411 million.