NSE LIVE! Equities surge on with N324b gain

 

Nigerian equities rallied capital gains of N324 billion on Thursday as investors continued intense bargain-hunting for quoted shares. The benchmark index at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the All Share Index (ASI), indicated average gain of 3.13 per cent to cross another level to 31,071.25 points as against its opening index of 30,127.82 points.

With 37 advancers to 12 decliners, aggregate market value of all quoted equities on the NSE, rose from N10.347 trillion to close at N10.671 trillion. The sustained gain nudged the average year-to-date return higher to 8.48 per cent.

For the third consecutive trading sessions, transactions at the stock market remained upbeat as all sectoral indices on Thursday closed in the green. The NSE Consumer Goods Index rallied by 3.3 per cent. The NSE Industrial Goods Index rose by 2.9 per cent. The NSE Banking Index appreciated by 2.3 per cent. The NSE Oil and Gas Index rose by 1.0 per cent while the NSE Insurance Index inched up by 0.7 per cent.

Nestle Nigeria, NSE’s highest-priced stock, again led the gainers with a gain of N23 to close at N855. Total Nigeria followed with a gain of N15 to close at N195. Dangote Cement rose by N9.71 to close at N203.96. Nigerian Breweries added N5.69 to close at N149.49. Guinness Nigeria rose by N5.31 to close at N111.76. GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria gathered N1.86 to close at N20.07. Unilever Nigeria rose by N1.60 to close at N33.70. Flour Mills of Nigeria garnered N1.10 to close at N24. Guaranty Trust Bank chalked up N1.02 to close at N24.22 while Okomu Oil Palm added N1 to close at N31 per share.

Total turnover stood at 450.52 million shares valued at N5.71 billion in 6,360 deals. The three most active stocks were: Zenith Bank, with 96.77 million shares worth N1.72 billion; Transnational Corporation, 64.42 million shares valued at N124.03 million and United Bank for Africa, which recorded turnover of 61.04 million shares worth N310.5 million.

On the negative side, CAP recorded the highest loss of N1.44 to close at N34.68. International Breweries placed second with a loss of 13 kobo to close at N19.86. NPF Microfinance Bank lost 6.0 kobo to close at N1.17. Access Bank dropped by 4.0 kobo to N6.16 while Skye Bank declined by 3.0 kobo to close at N1.10 per share.

“The gaining streak in the Nigerian equities market stretched to the third consecutive day as persistent buying interest kept the market soaring,” Afrinvest Securities stated, noting that market performance was characterised by a general buying interest across board.

“With three consecutive days of massive gains, there is an increased likelihood of some end of the week profit taking,” Afrinvest Securities cautioned on the outlook for the next trading session.