Stock Market Hits N75trn Milestone on Investors Demand for BUA Cement, 60 Others

Kayode Tokede

The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) extended its upward trend yesterday, closing above the N75 trillion threshold for the first time as strong investors demand for stocks of  BUA Cement plc and 60 others led to a N764billion boost in market capitalisation.

As the stock price of BUA Cement appreciated by 4.66 per cent or N4.10 per share  to close at N92. 00 per share,  the market capitalisation moved up by N764 billion or 1.02perc ceent to close at N75.576trillion from N74.812 trillion it opened for trading.

The stock market had commenced trading this week on a positive note, as gains in Presco Plc and 45 others pushed the overall capitalisation up by N278 billion.

Consequently, the NGX All-Share Index ended the session 1.02 per cent or 1,211.17 basis points  higher at 119,790.82 basis points from 118,579.65 basis points,   with the Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date returns settling at +7.2per cent and +16.4per cent, respectively.

Sectoral performance was broadly positive, as the NGX Industrial Goods index advanced by 3.1per ccent, NGX Consumer Goods index added two per cent, NGX Banking index appreciated by 0.9per cent and NGX  Insurance index gained 0.1 per cent, while the NGX Oil & Gas index depreciated by 1.5per cent.

 Market breadth remained firmly positive, with 61 stocks recording gains compared to 23 decliners. Beta Glass, Dangote Sugar Refinery, Okomu Oil and UPDC recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent each to close at N333.95, N44.00, N748.00 and N3.30 respectively, per share.

Champion Breweries followed with a gain of 9.98 per cent each to close at N9.92, while Ellah Lakes and CWG rose by 9.90 per cent each to close at N6.44 and N10.55 respectively, per share.

On the other hand, Daar Communications led the losers’ chart by 7.81 per cent to close at 59 kobo, per share. Prestige Assurance followed with a decline of 5.56 per cent to close at N1.02, while Industrial and Medical Gases Nigeria declined by 4.30 per cent to close at N33.40, per share.

NPF Microfinance Bank depreciated by 4.25 per cent to close at N2.03 and Aradel Holdings declined by 4.06 per cent to close at N515.00, per share.

The total volume traded advanced by 35.27 per cent to 868.680 million units, valued at N23.709 billion, and exchanged in 22,207 deals. Transactions in the shares of LivingTrust Mortgage Bank topped the activity chart with 112.269 million shares valued at N415.675 million. Royal Exchange followed with 103.584 million shares worth N113.796 million, while Fidelity Bank traded 83.928 million shares valued at N1.634 billion.

Access Holdings traded 55.603 million shares valued at N1.263 billion, while Zenith Bank sold 34.211 million shares worth N1.768 billion.

Looking forward, a group of analysts at United Capital Plc said, “the equities market might continue in its upward trend leading to a slight gain in the ASI. This is hinged on the market benefiting from the excess liquidity in the financial system.

“Similarly, investors might start positioning for Q2 earning season in June, favoring corporates with FX gains, cost control, clear growth trajectory, and those with potentials for quality interim dividend payment. We advise investors to cherry pick fundamentally sound stocks with potential for interim dividend payment.”

Also, Afrinvest Limited said, “we expect the positive performance to be sustained supported by upbeat investor sentiment.”