Darasimi Adebisi
The Nigerian equities market yesterday reversed previous day’s negative sentiment to appreciate by 0.32 per cent on bargain-hunting activities in MTN Nigeria Communications and 22 others.
The positive performance was buoyed by investors’ increased buying interest in some recently depreciated large and medium scale stock prices.
In summary, the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) All-Share Index (ASI) grew by 124.62 basis points, representing an increase of 0.32 per cent, to close at 39,670.29 basis points from 39,545.67 basis points.
Consequently, the overall market capitalisation value gained N65 billion to close at N20.669 trillion from N20.604trillion it opened for trading.
The market breadth closed positive with 23 gainers and 16 losers. Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals and NAHCO recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent each, to close at N1.87 and N2.97 respectively, while Honeywell Flour Mills followed with a gain 9.96 per cent to close at N2.98, per share.
BOC Gases rose by 9.90 per cent to close at N11.10 and Pharma Deko Plc went up 9.79 per cent to close at N1.57, per share.
On the other hand, Nigerian Breweries led the losers’ chart by 8.77 per cent to close at N52.00, per share. Consolidated Hallmark Insurance followed with a decline of 6.67 per cent to close at 42 kobo, while Sovereign Trust Insurance lost 3.70 per cent to close at 26 kobo, per share.
Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) declined 3.64 per cent to close at N5.30, while FCMB Group shed 3.50 per cent to close at N3.03, per share.
The total volume of trades increased by 52.8 per cent to 201.840 million units, valued at N1.680 billion, and exchanged in 3,274 deals. Transactions in the shares of Courteville Business Solutions topped the activity chart with 34.829 million shares valued at N10.1 million. ETI followed with 18.675 million shares worth N102.119 million, while Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) traded 12.785 million shares valued at N12.472 million.
NAHCO traded 11.271 million shares valued at N31.774 million, while Honeywell Flour Mills transacted 10.981 million shares worth N32.722 million.
Analysts at Afrinvest Limited said that “We expect the positive sentiment to dominate tomorrow’s trading session amidst bargain-hunting opportunities in some large-cap stocks.”
