CSSL, two others control 24 per cent of market turnover

• Top 10 stockbrokers trade 30.2b stocks in Q1

CARDINALSTONE Securities Limited ( CSSL) handled N153.77 billion in transaction value, an equivalent of 9.9 per cent of the total turnover of the Nigerian Exchange Limited ( NGX) in the first quarter, to lead the famous top 10 table in the first quarter , data sourced from th e trading platform said.

Transactions by three of the leading firms – CSSL, United Capital Securities Limited and Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited – accounted for 23.84 per cent of the total turnover, showing the rising dominance of the elite stockbrokers.

The dominance of a few players suggests there could be rising market control, with activities consistently resolving around three to five firms.

In terms of volume, Cardinalstone also led the quarter, trading a total of 6.06 billion stocks or an equivalent of 8.45 per cent of the market volume for the three months.

The performance was consistent with last year’s performance.

Last year, it led in terms of value with N440.55 billion transactions, which was 12.3 per cent of the total market turnover of N3.54 trillion. It was second to United

Capital in volume terms, transacting 24.97 billion stocks.

Last quarter, the top 10 leading stocks handled a total of N820.4 billion in transactions on the floor of the exchange. The amount was 52.85 per cent of the total N1.552 trillion that went into stock trading in the quarter.

As per volume, the leading firms traded as much as 30.2 billion stocks, which accounted for 42 per cent of the market activities, according to data obtained from NGX yesterday.

Last year, the combined trade of the leading 10 brokers was valued at N1.97 trillion, a staggering 54.8 per of the year’s turnover. In volume terms, they added a total of 50.4 per cent to market activities.

The performance of the top 10 brokers in the last year through to last quarter follows a recent historical trend. Nigeria has close to 200 active stockbrokers, according to the information provided by the NGX.

The most consistent names on the top table are CSSL, United Capital and Stanbic IBTC. Morgan Capital Securities Limited, Meristem Stockbrokers Limited, Cordros Securities Limited and CSL Stockbrokers Limited have also featured on the list.

Others are APEL Asset Limited, FBN Quest Securities Limited and Regency Assets Management Limited.