Stock market gains N1.4tr in two days

Nigerian stock market maintained its buoyant status in its equity segment yesterday with a gain of N514billion, hitting N1.418 trillion profits in just two days.

Analysts believe that the unexpected surge witnessing in the market is a sign of confidence in president elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari by investors.

Equities value which appreciated by N904 billion on Wednesday when Gen. Buhari emerged as winner of the last weekend’s election added another N514 billion yesterday.

The local bourse continued to record strong bullish trading on the back of a smooth presidential election as buying momentum heightened in the market.

The market recorded further gains as the All Share Index gained 3.92 per cent to close at 35,728.12 points, which pegged the year to date return at 3.1 per cent.

Gains in the market cut across all sectors as Oil and Gas sector posted 5.9 per cent daily return. The Financial Services sector was also supported by gains in the highly capitalised banking stocks such as Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, UBA Plc and Zenith Bank Plc as it returned 5.2 per cent. The Consumer Goods and Industrial Goods sectors posted 3.6 per cent and 2.9 per cent daily returns respectively.

Market turnover closes positive as volume moved up by 33.21 per cent against 132.33 per cent uptick recorded in the previous session. Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc and UBA Plc were the most active to boost market turnover. Zenith Bank Plc and Guaranty Trust Bank Plc top market value list.

Market breadth closed positive as GlaxoSmithKline Plc led 55 gainers against 11 losers topped by Okomu Oil Plc at the end of the day’s trading which was an unimproved performance when compared with previous outlook.

GlaxoSmithKline Plc appreciated by of 10.24 per cent to close at N51.04 kobo per share, followed by Guaranty Trust Bank Plc with 10.20 per cent gain to close at N31.88 kobo, while Oando Plc grew by 10.14 per cent to close at N17.60 kobo per share. Also, Forte Oil Plc rose by 10.13 per cent to close at N215.00 kobo per share and UBA Plc gained 10.07 per cent per share to close at N4.92 kobo.

On the other hand, Okomu Oil Plc depreciated by 4.91 per cent to close at N28.29 kobo per share. Fidson Healthcare Plc followed with 4.75 per cent to close at N3.41 kobo per share while Trans Express Plc loss 3.88 per cent to close at N1.24 kobo per share, Presco Plc with 2.30 per cent loss to close at N28.50 kobo per share and Stanbic IBTC Plc with 1.93 per cent loss to close at N31.00 kobo per share.