By Goddy Egene
Gains recorded by Dangote Cement Plc, Okumo Oil Palm Plc and Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc helped the local bourse to appreciate yesterday, thereby reversing losses of the previous day.
Consequently, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited All-Share Index (ASI) rose 0.5 per cent to close at 38,881.70, while market capitalisation added N101.8 billion to be at N20.3 trillion.
The market had opened for the week on Monday on a negative note after recovering last week. However, the bulls regained controlled yesterday. Highest capitalised stock, Dangote Cement Plc was among the 15 price gains, chalking up 2.2 per cent, hence the positive close. But the price gainers’ chart was led by Okomu Oil Palm Plc with 10 per cent, trailed by Learn Africa Plc with 9.0 per cent, while Champion Breweries Plc and Unilever Nigeria Plc and Cornerstone Insurance Plc with 3.5 per cent.
Conversely, CWG Plc led price losers with 9.4 per cent, followed by Regency Insurance Plc with 8.1 per cent. FTN Cocoa Processors Plc and Veristas Kapital Assurance Plc shed 7.6 per cent among others.
Meanwhile, trading activity strengthened as volume and value traded rose by 3.7 per cent and 6.0 per cent to 218.5 million shares and N1.6 billion respectively. The most traded stocks by volume were Courtville Business Solutions Plc (35.8 million shares), Fidelity Bank Plc (26.6 million shares), and Zenith Bank Plc (15.3 milloion shares) while Zenith Bank Plc (N349.3 million), Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (N291.3 million), and Dangote Cement Plc (N107.8 million) led by value.
In terms of sectoral performance, the NSE Industrial Goods Index led the gainers, up 1.1 per cent, followed by the NSE Consumer Goods Index and NSE Oil & Gas Index rose by 0.6 per cent and 0.1 per cent respectively.
Conversely, the NSE Insurance Index led the laggards, down 1.0 per cent, while the NSE Banking Index shed 0.05 per cent.
Analysts at Cordros Securities had said the market would remain bullish this week.
“We expect alpha-seeking investors to continue rotating their portfolio towards equities amid moderation in the uptick of yields in the fixed income (FI) market. We expect market performance to be dominated by the bulls, as positioning by early birds in dividend-paying stocks ahead of H1-2021 dividend declarations should outweigh profit-taking activities. We reiterate the need for positioning in only fundamentally sound stocks as the weak macro environment remains a significant headwind for corporate earnings,” they had said.
