Taofik Salako, Deputy Group Business Editor
NIGERIAN equities continued on the upswing yesterday as considerable demand for major cement and oil and gas companies roused the market to net capital gain of N334 billion.
Benchmark indices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) indicated average return of 1.7 per cent yesterday, representing net capital gain of N334 billion. With this, average year-to-date return trended upward to 39.5 per cent.
The All Share Index (ASI)- the value-based common index that tracks share prices at the Exchange roe from its opening index of 36,804.75 points to close at 37,443.40 points. Aggregate market value of all quoted equities also rose correspondingly from its opening value of N19.236 trillion to close at N19.570 trillion.
With equal numbers of advancers and decliners, the overall market position reflected gains recorded by large-cap stocks, especially in the industrial goods sector. The NSE Industrial Goods Index rose by 5.5 per cent. The NSE Insurance Index appreciated by 5.1 per cent while the NSE Oil and Gas Index rose by 0.7 per cent. However, the NSE Banking Index declined by 1.1 per cent while the NSE Consumer Goods Index dipped by 0.14 per cent.
Nigeria’s most capitalised company, Dangote Cement led the gainers with a gain of N20.90 to close at N230.40. BOC Gases followed with a gain of 72 kobo to close at N7.92. Flour Mills of Nigeria rose by 65 kobo to close at N26.65. Lafarge Africa appreciated by 50 kobo to close at N22.50 while PZ Cussons Nigeria rose by 35 kobo to close at N5.35 per share.
On the negative side, Ardova led the losers with a drop of 75 kobo to close at N13.55. Zenith Bank dropped by 50 kobo to close at N24.30. Eterna lost 45 kobo to close at N4.10. Unilever Nigeria declined by 40 kobo to close at N13.95 while Guaranty Trust Bank dipped by 25 kobo to close at N33.50 per share.
“We anticipate sustained bullish performance in the equities market in subsequent trading days,” Afrinvest Securities stated.
Total turnover stood at 427.06 million shares valued at N3.31 billion in 5,258 deals. AXA Mansard was the most active stock with 90.18 million shares.
