Dangote Cement, 18 Others Lift Stocks Market By 1.42%
(Sundiata Finance) – Consolidating recovery move, trading activities on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) went up by 1.42 per cent following price gains recorded by Dangote Cement and 18 other blue chip companies.
In summary, the All Share Index (ASI) gained 503.30 absolute points, representing a growth of 1.42 per cent to close at 36,112.37 points. Similarly, the market capitalisation gained N175 billion, to close at N12.448 trillion.
The upturn was impacted by gains recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are; Dangote Cement, Guinness, Stanbic IBTC, Flourmill, Dangote Sugar, Wapco and Guaranty Trust Bank.
Analysts at Afrinvest Limited attributed yesterday’s positive close to bargain hunting in stocks which had previously declined, saying, “We envisage the market will close the week in the green.”
Market breadth was negative, with 19 gainers versus 22 losers. Guinness recorded the highest price gain of 10.23 per cent, to close at N96.33 per share. Dangote Cement followed with a gain of 4.73 per cent to close at N216.91, while Stanbic IBTC appreciated by 3.88 per cent, to close at N39.90 per share.
Aiico Insurance gained 3.64 per cent to close at 57 kobo, while Africa Prudential rose by 3.57 per cent to close at N3.19 per share.
On the other hand, Seplat led the losers’ chart by five per cent, to close at N457.90 per share. NCR followed with a decline of 4.91 per cent, to close at N6.97, while May and Baker depreciated by 4.76 per cent to close at N3, per share.
Also, Skye Bank went down by 4.76 per cent to close at 60 kobo and FBN Holdings declined by 4.32 per cent to close at N5.76 per share.
The total volume traded depreciated by 21 per cent to 222.69 million shares, worth N4.17 billion, and traded in 4,622 deals. Transactions in the shares of Sterling Bank topped the activity chart with 36.58 million shares valued at N37.25 million. Royal Exchange followed with 35.72 million shares worth N17.86 billion, while Fidelity Bank traded 21.91 million shares valued at N29.39 million.
Access Bank traded 21.55 million shares valued at N212.45 million, while Zenith Bank sold 18.46 million shares worth N442.73 million.