Kehinde Akinseinde-Jayeoba, Lagos
Equities trading at the Nigerian Exchange Limited on Wednesday were bullish to end four consistent sessions of losses.
At the end of day’s trade, the domestic bourse All Share Index (ASI) increased by 0.90 per cent to close at 53,603.80 basis points amid improved investor risk appetite.
Bullish sentiment in index heavyweight Dangote Cement alongside Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Holding Company and Lafarge Africa pushed the broader index into positive territory as the big cap stocks appreciated by 5.07 per cent, 2.80 per cent, 1.61 per cent and 1.98 per cent, respectively.
Accordingly, the Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date returns settled at -4.0 per cent and +4.6 per cent, respectively.
Equities investors, therefore, gain N57.49 billion as the market capitalisation closed higher at N29.20 trillion.
As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was positive, as 22 tickers gained relative to 14 losers. On the performance board, Oando and Caverton recorded the highest gains of the day having appreciated in share value by 9.8 per cent and 8.1 per cent, respectively, while May&Baker and Consolidated Hallmark Insurance topped the losers’ list as their respective share prices dipped by 8.7 per cent and 8.1 per cent.
Of the five tracked indices, three closed in the green, with the exception of the NGX Insurance index, which declined by 0.76 per cent, and the NGX Oil/ Gas index, which was flat. The NGX Banking, NGX Consumer Goods, and NGX Industrial indexes advanced by 1.97 per cent, 0.12 per cent and 2.69 per cent, respectively.
In the broad and narrow markets, the NGX Premium, NGX Mainboard, and NGX-30 indexes increased by 190 basis points, 18 basis points, and 102 basis points, respectively.
Analysis of market activities for the day under review showed trade turnover settled higher relative to the previous session, with the value of transactions up by 58.74 per cent. A total of 236.07 million shares valued at N3.26 billion were exchanged in 3,906 deals.
Transnational Corporation led the volume chart with 91.39 million units traded, while Zenith Bank led the value chart in deals worth N696.21 million.
