Equities rebound as market capitalisation rises by N54 billion
THE equities market reversed bearish sentiment to close in an upbeat yesterday, occasioned by renewed bargain hunting in major industrial goods and insurance sectors, as market capitalisation increased by N54 billion.
Specifically, the All-share Index (ASI) appreciated by 105.04 absolute points, representing a rise of 0.26 per cent, to close at 41,249.71 points. Similarly, the overall market capitalisation value surged by N54 billion to close at N21.526 trillion.
The improved performance was driven by price appreciation in large and medium capitalised stocks, which are: MTN Nigeria Communications (MTNN), Nigerian Exchange Group, FBN Holdings (FBNH), Glaxosmithkline Consumer Nigeria and Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI).
Analysts at Vetiva Dealings and Brokerage said: “Market recovered from the negative close amid an almost even split between buying and sell-off activities, and we expect this to filter into tomorrow’s session, as investors continue to trade ahead of Q3 earnings reports.”
Similarly, the market breadth closed positive, recording 21 gainers and 18 losers. Nigerian Exchange Group recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent to close at N21.45 kobo while Glaxosmithkline Consumer Nigeria followed with a gain of 6.87 per cent to close at N7.00 kobo. NPF Microfinance Bank went up 5.85 per cent to close at N1.81 kobo.
Wapic Insurance appreciated by 4.17 per cent to close at 50 kobo, while FBNH rose by 3.83 per cent to close at
N12.20 kobo. On the other hand, Prestige Assurance led the losers’ chart by 8.51 per cent to close at 43 kobo, while Academy Press and Consolidated Hallmark Insurance followed with a decline of 8.33 per cent each to close at 33 kobo and 55 kobo.
Cadbury Nigeria declined 5.88 per cent to close at N8.00 kobo, while Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) shed 5.66 per cent to close at N5.00 kobo.
Meanwhile, the total volume of trades increased by 47.47 per cent to 499.508 million units, valued at
N5.079 billion, and exchanged in 5,998 deals. Transactions in the shares of FBN Holdings (FBNH) topped the activity chart with 147.602 million shares valued at N1.756 billion. etranzact International followed with 105.167 million shares worth N215.594 million, while Access Bank traded 27.855 million shares valued at N265.973 million. Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) traded 22.293 million shares valued at N22.783 million, while Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) transacted 20.595 million shares worth N612.908 million.