The Nation Newspaper

Tag: equities

  • Access Bank, UBA, others hit highs as equities sustain rally

    Several stocks set new highs on Thursday as Nigerian equities continued their rally amidst increased investors’ appetite for bargain stocks across the sectors. Two first-tier banks- United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Access Bank, the two leading agricultural stocks-Okomu Oil Palm and Presco, Seplat Petroleum Development Company and May & Baker Nigeria Plc spiraled to their highest prices in more than 12 months on Thursday.

    With exactly three advancers to every decliner, the benchmark indices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) indicated an average gain of 0.77 per cent yesterday, equivalent to net capital gain of N87 billion. The average year-to-date return also improved to 22.56 per cent, providing equities investors with positive inflation-adjusted returns.

    Several other stocks in the banking, industrial goods and consumer goods also continued to trade around their highest prices in spite of recurring profit-taking transactions that seek to convert and lock in capital appreciation.

    Seplat, the highest gainer for the second consecutive trading session, recorded a gain of N39.13 to close at N425 per share, its highest price in more than a year. Seplat is riding on the back of the lifting of Force Majeure on Forcados export terminal, which is expected to boost production volumes, forward earnings and cash flow of Seplat. Okomu Oil Palm recorded the fourth highest gain of N2.88 to set a new 52-week high of N60.63. Presco followed with a gain of N2.83 to close at a new high of N59.53.

    Also, May & Baker Nigeria continued to ride on its new domestic vaccine production partnership with the Federal Government, adding 23 kobo to close at a new high of N2.59. United Bank for Africa rose by 38 kobo to a new 52-week high of N8.84 while Access Bank consolidated its tier-one capitalisation with a gain of 70 kobo to close at a new 52-week high of N10.27.

    Overall, aggregate market value of all quoted equities at the NSE rose from its opening value of N11.300 trillion to close at N11.387 trillion. The All Share Index (ASI), the benchmark index for quoted equities, appreciated to 32,937.98 points as against its opening index of 32,686.72 points.

    There were 45 gainers to 15 losers. Sectoral indices showed widespread positive sentiment. The NSE Oil & Gas Index rose by 4.9 per cent. The NSE Banking Index appreciated by 3.0 per cent while NSE Consumer Goods Index rallied 1.3 per cent. On the negative side, the NSE Industrial Goods Index declined by 1.0 per cent while the NSE Insurance Index slipped by 0.2 per cent.

    Other top gainers yesterday included Forte Oil, which rose by N5.41 to close at N58.33; Total Nigeria added N4.49 to close at N279.50, International Breweries rallied N2.71 to close at N29.24, UAC of Nigeria gathered N1.70 to close at N18.53, Nigerian Breweries chalked up N1.49 to close at N156.50 while Cadbury Nigeria rose by N1.31 to close at N14.22 per share.

    Total turnover stood at 528.69 million shares valued at N4.84 billion in 5,603 deals. Banking stocks remained atop activities’ chart. Access Bank was the most active stock with a turnover of 81.82 million shares valued at N832.43 million. FBN Holdings followed with 71.42 million shares worth N471.73 million while United Bank for Africa placed third with 67.13 million shares worth N586.54 million.

    On the downside, Dangote Cement recorded the highest loss of N3.97 to close at N205. Julius Berger Nigeria followed with a loss of N1.86 to close at N38. Guaranty Trust Bank dropped by 15 kobo to close at N33.55 while Lafarge Africa lost 11 kobo to close at N52.64 per share.

    “While the equities market is expected to ride on the positive developments in the economy, we note that that the run of gains over the past weeks may have limited the upside for some stocks. Nonetheless, we still maintain the market may be set for a “year round bull run” following the improved flexibility in the administration of foreign exchange and anticipated strong second quarter earnings season,” Afrinvest Securities stated in a positive review of equities outlook.

  • Equities sustain rally with N73b gain

    After rallying a whooping N329 billion gain last week, Nigerian equities reopened this week on the upbeat as investors continued to scramble for value stocks in the banking and consumer goods sectors. Benchmark indices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed a day-on-day average gain of 0.73 per cent, equivalent to net capital gain of N73 billion.

    Most price changes closed on the upside as aggregate market value of all quoted equities at the Exchange rose from N10.048 trillion to close at N10.121 trillion. The All Share Index (ASI)-the value-based common index that tracks prices at NSE rose correspondingly from 29,064.52 points to close at 29,276.59 points.

    With 29 gainers t0 17 losers, nearly all sectoral indices closed positive, underlining the widespread buy sentiment driving trading at the market. The NSE Banking Index recorded above-average gain of 2.2 per cent. The NSE Insurance Index trailed with a gain of 2.0 per cent. The NSE Industrial Goods Index appreciated by 0.7 per cent while the NSE Consumer Goods Index rose slightly by 0.3 per cent. However, the NSE Oil and Gas Index declined by 2.0 per cent.

    Manufacturing stocks led the gainers’ chart. Presco recorded the highest gain of N1.99 to close at N51. Flour Mills of Nigeria followed with a gain of N1.01 to close at N21.24. Nigerian Breweries trailed with a gain of N1 to close at N146. Lafarge Africa appreciated by 55 kobo to close at N48. Guaranty Trust Bank added 52 kobo to close at N35.80. Ecobank Transnational Incorporated rallied 51 kobo to close at N10.80. Nascon Allied Industries appreciated by 40 kobo to close at N8.90. FBN Holdings rose by 39 kobo to close at N5.28. Zenith Bank garnered 37 kobo to close at N19.50 while Access Bank rose by 31 kobo to close at N7.90 per share.

    The market also witnessed significant increase in momentum of activities. Investors staked a total of N7.6 billion on 832.5 million shares. Diamond Bank was the most active stock with a turnover of 194.21 million shares worth N184.75 million. Champion Breweries followed with 83.97 million shars valued at N173.83 million while Guaranty Trust Bank placed third with a turnover of 76.59 million shares worth N2.81 billion.

    On the negative side, Seplat Petroleum Development Company led the contrarian stocks with a drop of N19.50 to close at N370.50. Seven-Up Bottling Company followed with a loss of N5.24 to close at N99.75. CAP declined by N2.20 to close at N32.05. Enamelware lost N1.46 to close at N27.87 while International Breweries dropped by 91 kobo to close at N21.05 per share.

  • Equities open with marginal decline

    Nigerian equities reopened yesterday to a wave of profit-taking after four consecutive positive trading sessions. The two main indices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed a marginal decline of 0.12 per cent or N12 billion, shaving the average year-to-date return to 4.48 per cent.

    The negative overall market position was driven largely by losses induced by profit-taking transactions on leading consumer goods and banking stocks. The underlying sentiments at the market meanwhile remained largely bullish with 26 gainers to 18 losers in the five-hour trading session.

    The All Share Index (ASI)-which tracks prices at the NSE, dipped from its opening index of 28,113.38 points to close at 28,078.30 points. Aggregate market value of all quoted equities also declined from opening value of N9.719 trillion to close at N9.707 trillion.

    The decline on Monday halted a four-day rally that started last Tuesday. Most sectoral indices still showed positive performance. The NSE Oil & Gas Index rose by 0.4 per cent while the NSE Insurance Index and NSE Industrial Goods Index inched up by 0.1 per cent each. However, the NSE Consumer Goods Index dropped by 0.7 per cent while the NSE Banking Index slipped by 0.03 per cent.

    Seplat Petroleum Development Company led the gainers with a gain of N5.20 to close at N372.70. Total Nigeria followed with a gain of N5 to close at N270. Nestle Nigeria rose by N1 to close at N836. Okomu Oil Palm and PZ Cussons Nigeria added 90 kobo each to close at N50.90 and N18.90 while Guaranty Trust Bank rose by 50 kobo to close at N32 per share.

    On the downside, Nigerian Breweries led the losers with a drop of N3.12 to close at N140.84. Presco followed with a loss of N1 to close at N48. Cadbury Nigeria declined by 53 kobo to close at N10.12. Ecobank Transnational Incorporated dropped by 49 kobo to close at N9.31 while UAC of Nigeria lost 34 kobo to close at N14.56 per share.

    Total turnover stood at 208.33 million shares valued at N3.74 billion in 3,498 deals. Diamond Bank was the most active with 36.89 million shares valued at N34.33 million. Zenith Bank followed with 29.86 million shares worth N534.06 million while Guaranty Trust Bank placed third with 22.14 million shares valued at N708.45 million.

    “Today’s negative close was majorly due to profit taking by investors, however, we expect performance to strengthen in trading sessions ahead as investor sentiment remains strong,” analysts at Afrinvest Securities stated.

  • Equities back with N881b gain in 11 days

    Nigerian equities surged to their highest level this year and reversed the negative overhang at the stock market as major scramble for shares by foreign and domestic investors spurred the equities market to a net capital gain of N881 billion in the past 11 days. Equities closed last week with net capital gain of N677 billion, equivalent to a week-on-week average gain of 7.46 per cent, as the rousing price appreciation that started in the last days of April gathered momentum.

    Aggregate market value of all quoted companies on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), which opened on Thursday April 27, 2017 at N8.865 trillion, rose consecutively for 10 days to N9.825 trillion on Thursday May 11, 2017, representing a net capital gain of N960 billion. The market, however, witnessed a tinge of profit-taking last Friday May 12, 2017, dropping the aggregate market value of quoted companies by N79 billion to N9.746 trillion. Thus, the net capital gain for the 11-day period dropped to N881 billion.

    The All Share Index (ASI)- the benchmark index for the Nigerian stock market, also rose consecutively from opening index of 25,620.94 points on Thursday April 27 to 28,423.70 points by last Thursday May 11 and dipped marginally to close at the weekend at 28,192.46 per cent. This represented average gain of 10.04 per cent over the 11-day period.

    Market analysts were unanimous that three factors were the main drivers of the rally. These included the steady performance of most quoted companies in 2016 and improvement in first quarter 2017 earnings, renewed interest by foreign investors as foreign exchange crisis eases off and positive macroeconomic outlook.

    Moody`s Investors Service, a leading global rating agency, in its latest reports said it expected Nigeria`s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to grow by 2.5 per cent in 2017, after a contraction of 1.5 per cent in 2016. Nigeria’s GDP growth is expected to double to 4.0 per cent in 2018, according to Moody.  Moody also maintained its stable outlook on the Nigerian banking sector.

    Investors in the Nigerian stock market, who had been wriggled under losses, are back in the green. Average year-to-date return reversed from negative to a positive return of 4.90 per cent at the weekend. All sectoral indices showed that investors have generally recovered from losing position to various gains.

    The NSE 30 Index, which tracks the 30 most capitalised stocks at the Exchange, showed year-to-date return of 7.96 per cent. Banking stocks were ahead with year-to-date return of 19.51 per cent, providing positive real return on investment after adjustment for inflation. The NSE Industrial Goods Index has so far this year appreciated by 6.36 per cent. The NSE Oil and Gas Index has returned 3.07 per cent while the NSE Insurance Index and the NSE Consumer Goods Index showed modest year-to-date gain of 0.89 per cent and 0.93 per cent respectively.

    With more than four gainers to every loser, the stock market was particularly on the high last week. Aggregate market value of all quoted equities rose from the week’s opening value of N9.069 trillion to close the week at N9.746 trillion. The ASI, which doubles as sovereign equities index for Nigeria, also rallied from the week’s index-on-board of 26,235.63 points to close at the week at 28,192.46 points.

    There were 57 gainers against 13 losers last week compared to 43 gainers and 16 losers recorded in the previous week. May & Baker Nigeria recorded the highest gain, in percentage terms, of 32 per cent to close at N1.28. Ecobank Transnational Incorporated rose by 22.5 per cent to N9.80. Fidson Healthcare followed with a gain of 21.5 per cent to close at N1.92. PZ Cussons Nigeria appreciated by 20.4 per cent to close at N18.06. Oando rose by 20.2 per cent to close at N8.62. Unity Bank chalked up 20 per cent to close at 60 kobo. Eterna rose by 17.9 per cent to N3.89. Diamond Bank appreciated by 17.7 per cent to close at N1 while Nigerian Breweries rose by 17.1 per cent to N149 per share.

    Turnover more than doubled as investors flooded the market with open orders to buy shares at whatever available prices. Total turnover last week stood at 3.26 billion shares worth N28.74 billion in 25,370 deals compared with a total of 1.15 billion shares valued at N10.44 billion traded in 16,676 deals two weeks ago.

    The banking-led financial services sector remained the dominant sector with 83.4 per cent and 60 per cent of total turnover volume and value respectively. Turnover in the financial services sector stood at 2.72 billion shares valued at N17.23 billion in 15,103 deals. The consumer goods sector occupied a distant second on the activities chart with 185.75 million shares worth N6.6 billion in 3,817 deals. The conglomerates sector ranked third with 156.01 million shares worth N385.43 million in 1,340 deals.

    The three most active stocks were FBN Holdings Plc, FCMB Group Plc and Zenith International Bank Plc. The three most active stocks accounted for 1.42 billion shares worth N8.19 billion in 5,117 deals, representing 43.6 per cent and 28.5 per cent of the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

    Also traded during the week were a total of 948 units of Exchange Traded Products (ETPs), valued at N16,591 in 14 deals compared with a total of 20 units valued at N110,000 traded in a deal in the previous week.

    In the government bonds sector, a total of 5,201 units of Federal Government bonds valued at N5.40 million were traded in three deals compared with a total of 1,582 units valued at N1.61 million traded in 10 deals two weeks ago.

    On the negative side, Jaiz Bank  led the losers with a drop of 9.1 per cent to close at N1. Seplat Petroleum Development Company followed with a loss of 5.9 per cent to close at N400. Newrest ASL declined by 5.6 per cent to N4.69. Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals dropped by 5.4 per cent to 53 kobo while BOC Gases dipped by 4.8 per cent to close at N3.35 per share.

    Market analysts at SCM Capital Markets said there was likelihood of a continuation of the profit-taking trend that started at the weekend in the next week as investors seek to lock in recent price gains.

  • Equities rally to N9tr amidst bargain-hunting

    Nigerian equities rallied to a new highest index point to N9.03 trillion yesterday as investors stepped up demand for quoted equities on the back of considerable improvement in corporate earnings. With more than two gainers to a loser and widespread price appreciation, equities recorded average gain of 0.58 per cent or N52 billion to reach their highest index point in recent period.

    Aggregate market value of all quoted companies on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) rose from its opening value of N8.975 trillion to close at N9.027 trillion, representing net capital gain of N52 billion. The All Share Index (ASI) – the main index that tracks prices at the Exchange, increased from 25,965.18 points to close at 26,116.79 points.

    The sustained rally has moderated the negative average year-to-date return to -2.82 per cent.

    All sectoral indices closed in the positive. The NSE Banking Index rose by 1.5 per cent. The NSE Oil & Gas Index appreciated by 0.6 per cent. The NSE Consumer Goods Index returned 0.4 per cent. The NSE Insurance Index inched up by 0.3 per cent while the NSE Industrial Goods Index closed flat.

    There were 27 gainers against 13 losers. Unilever Nigeria led the gainers with a gain of N1.69 to close at N33.50. Forte Oil rose by N1 to close at N44. Guinness Nigeria rallied 99 kobo to close at N61. UAC of Nigeria chalked up 65 kobo to close at N14.40 while Ashaka Cement rose by 52 kobo to close at N10.96 per share.

    Total turnover was above average with 264.49 million shares valued at N2.90 billion in 3,958 deals. Large-cap banks were the most active. Zenith Bank was the most active with 41.88 million shares worth N652.18 million. Guaranty Trust Bank followed with 37.75 million shares worth N1.01 billion while United Bank for Africa placed third with 34.03 million shares valued at N205.21 million.

    On the negative side, Total Nigeria led the losers with a loss of N10 to close at N255. Seven-Up Bottling Company dropped by N4.75 to close at N90.25. Nascon Allied Industries declined by 42 kobo to close at N8.05. UACN Property Development Company dropped by 5.0 kobo to close at N1.75 while Continental Reinsurance and Unity Bank slipped by 4.0 kobo each to close at N1.07 and 54 kobo respectively.

     

  • Equities lose N17b in tight market situation

    The topsy-turvy market situation at the Nigerian stock market continued yesterday as a selloff on large-cap stocks pressed the overall market position to a marginal loss of N17 billion. With 16 gainers to 15 losers, the stock market traded on almost a balance of profit-taking and bargain-hunting but losses recorded by highly capitalised stocks tilted the overall market position to the bears.

    Aggregate market value of all quoted equities on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) declined from its opening value of N8.765 trillion to close at N8.748 trillion. The All Share Index (ASI), the benchmark index for the market, also slipped marginally by 0.19 per cent from its opening index of 25,331.77 points to close at 25,282.75 points.

    The decline pushed the negative average year-to-date return to -5.92 per cent. The decline was largely due to losses recorded by large-cap stocks such as FBN Holdings, Dangote Cement, Zenith Bank, Okomu Oil and Dangote Sugar Refinery.

    Most sectoral indices closed in the negative. The NSE Industrial Goods Index and the NSE Banking Index declined by 0.3 per cent each while the NSE Insurance Index slipped by 0.1 per cent. Meanwhile, the NSE Oil & Gas index rose by 0.5 per cent while the NSE Consumer Goods Index inched up by 0.1 per cent.

    Seven-Up Bottling Company led the losers with a loss of N5.24 to close at N99.66. Okomu Oil Palm dropped by N2.49 to close at N47.39. Dangote Cement lost N1 to close at N159. Nascon Allied Industries declined by 70 kobo to close at N7.74 while UAC of Nigeria dropped by 50 kobo to close at N14.10.

    Total turnover volume however declined by 54.11 per cent to 147.89 million shares valued at N836.84 million in 2,578 deals. Transactions in the shares of Transcorp topped the activity chart with 28.07 million shares valued at N25.67 billion. Diamond Bank followed with 24.98 million shares worth N21.78 million while FCMB Group placed third with 13.8 million shares valued at N13.8 million.

    On the upside, Seplat Petroleum Development Company led the gainers with a gain of N5 to close at N405. Nigerian Breweries rose by N1 to close at N124. Stanbic IBTC Holdings added 49 kobo to close at N19.50. Nestle Nigeria chalked up 30 kobo to close at N750.30 while Africa Prudential rose by 12 kobo to N2.53 per share.

  • No guarantee on equities, Stock Exchange warns brokers

    No guarantee on equities, Stock Exchange warns brokers

    The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has issued a circular to stockbrokers warning them against a breach of the extant capital market rules which prohibit brokers from providing any guarantee on quoted shares, or other securities.
    The circular, obtained by The Nation at the weekend, came on the heels of a guaranteed investment scheme that involved a leading stockbroker. Preliminary investigations by the NSE and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have established that the troubled stockbroking firm, Partnership Securities Limited (PSL), breached the extant capital market rules and engaged in illegal activities that led to estimated loss of about N4.8 billion by some 300 investors.
    Citing its rulebook, The Exchange stated that guaranteed investment scheme is prohibited by the Rules of the Exchange, warning that it would impose sanctions on any erring stockbroker.
    According to the dealing members’ rules, rule 1.15 that deals with prohibition of business relationship based on guarantee, Rulebook of the Exchange, 2015, dealing members of the Exchange shall not “enter into any business relationship with a client premised on a guaranteed return to the client.”
    The rule 1.15 also forbids dealing members from “guarantee, directly or indirectly, a customer against loss in any account or in any securities transaction executed by the dealing member for such customer, or previously agreed with the customer on a profit margin”.
    Violation falls under engaging in illegal activities and transactions under such activities could be deemed unauthorised transactions. Such violations carry wide-ranging fines and sanctions under the rules of the market, including monetary sanction, revocation of dealership license and cancellation of stockbroking license.
    Partnership Securities, owned by Mr. Victor Ogiemwonyi, a leading stockbroker and council member of the Exchange, is embroiled in a shares investment scandal. Some 300 investors had alleged that they were allegedly swindled of more than N4.8 billion in investment schemes promoted by Partnership Securities Limited. Representatives of the investors alleged that they were approached by Ogiemwonyi to surrender their shares to him for management under his Partnership Securities Deposit Account (PSDA) with a promise to provide a guaranteed return periodically. Shares worth more than N4.8 billion were misappropriated through this scheme.
    Some of the other victims included Mr. Godwin Anono, Chairman, Standard Shareholders Association of Nigeria with over N160 million worth of shares, Mr. Alabi Olusola with over N12.540 million worth of shares; Mr. Solesi Samuel with over N40 million worth of shares and a widow with over N4 million worth of shares among others.
    Narrating his ordeal, Mr. Alabi Olusola said Ogiemwonyi called him to deposit his shares, which had not been traded over the years, in the custody of his stockbroking firm to manage those shares and generate 10 per cent returns, which would be paid to Alabi twice a year.
    “The deal was such that I can back out at any time I wish. When in 2014 the returns were not forth coming, Ogiemwonyi started giving one excuse or the other; that the returns are being reinvested, it was then I realised that he was playing foul, hence I demanded for my shares which could not be returned to me,” Alabi said.
    The Exchange had on October 18, 2016 suspended PSL from trading on all its floors nationwide.

  • Equities lose N38b as profit-taking begins

    After a modest recovery added a net capital gain of N36 billion to quoted equities last week , the Nigerian stock market reopened yesterday with a considerably wide profit-taking sentiment as investors sought to take and lock in profits.

    With more than two decliners for every advancer, the market situation at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) was largely bearish. Aggregate market value of all quoted equities dropped from opening value of N9.059 trillion to close at N9.021 trillion, representing a net capital loss of N38 billion.

    The All Share Index (ASI), the main index at the stock market, also declined from its opening index of 26,328.22 points to close at 26,217.18 points, indicating average day-on-day decline of 0.42 per cent. The negative average year-to-date return thus inched up to -2.45 per cent.

    There were 19 losers to nine gainers. Dangote Cement, Nigeria’s most capitalised quoted company, led the decliners with a loss of N1.01 to close at N166. Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, the most capitalised banking stock, followed with a loss of 38 kobo to close at N23.97. Leading indigenous oil and gas group, Oando, dropped by 24 kobo to close at N4.90. Stanbic IBTC Holdings declined by 18 kobo to close at N17.30 while United Bank for Africa lost 14 kobo to close at N4.98 per share.

    On the positive side, Seven-Up Bottling Company recorded the highest gain of N5.40 to close at N113.40. Forte Oil rose by N2.12 to close at N74. Eterna garnered 14 kobo to close at N3.62. Okomu Oil Palm added 8.0 kobo to close at N44.18 while FBN Holdings chalked up 6.0 kobo to close at N3.50 per share.

    Total turnover stood at 143.52 million shares valued at N755.89 million in 2,139 deals. The three most active stocks were AIICO Insurance, with 56.8 million shares; Transnational Corporation of Nigeria, 16.09 million shares and United Bank for Africa, which recorded a turnover of 7.75 million shares.

    “We expect market to exhibit another depressed mood at tomorrow (Tuesday)`s session due to weak volume. However, the current valuation presents attractive entry opportunities for risk tolerant investors to position ahead of the earnings season,” SCM Capital stated in its outlook for the next trading session.

    “Today (Monday)’s performance was broadly driven by profit taking after three consecutive days of appreciation in the prior week, hence we expect market performance to remain pressured in subsequent trading sessions,” analysts at Afrinvest Securities stated.

     

  • Equities rally N36b gain in cautious market

    Nigerian equities braced through low-volume and tight market to record net capital gain of N36 billion last week as investors cautiously await the earnings reports and dividend recommendations of most quoted companies.

    Under the enhanced listing rules at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) which took off on January 1, 2017, quoted companies are expected to submit their annual audited account to the Exchange not later than 90 calendar days after the relevant year end, and published same in at least two national daily newspapers not later than 21 calendar days before the date of the annual general meeting. They are also required to post same on their websites with the web address disclosed in the newspaper publications. Also, an electronic copy of the publication shall be filed with the Exchange on the same day as the publication.

    Many early filers are expected to release their audited report and accounts and dividend recommendations in the next few days. The dividend-driven rally counterbalanced selloff due to the economic crunch.

    Aggregate market value of all quoted equities at the NSE closed the week at N9.059 trillion as against its week’s opening  value of N9.023 trillion, representing a week-on-week gain of N36 billion. The All Share Index (ASI)- the benchmark index for the stock market, recorded a week-on-week return of 0.40 per cent to close at 26,328.22 points as against its week’s opening index of 26,223.54 points.

    There were 29 gainers against 30 losers last week compared with 30 gainers and 27 losers recorded in the previous week, underlining the tight market situation. Most equities still remained dormant with 116 companies unchanged last week as against 118 companies in previous week.

    Unity Bank recorded the highest, in percentage terms, gain of 15.63 per cent to close at 74 kobo. Oando followed with a gain of 12.47 per cent to close at N5.14 while Stanbic IBTC Holdings rose by 8.57 per cent to N17.48.

    On the other hand, Honeywell Flour Mills recorded the highest loss of 11.3 per cent to close at N1.10. MRS Oil and Gas followed with a loss of 9.7 per cent to close at N39.03 while Sterling Bank declined by 8.75 per cent to close at 73 kobo.

    Total turnover stood at 990.58 million shares worth N18.82 billion in 14,917 deals compared with a total of 1.34 billion shares valued at N8.90 billion traded in 15,733 deals in the previous week. The financial services sector remained the most active with 664.65 million shares valued at N3.9 billion in 8,056 deals; thus contributing 67.1 per cent and 20.7 per cent of the total equity turnover volume and value respectively. The consumer goods sector followed with 133.64 million shares worth N2.60 billion in 2,653 deals while the conglomerates sector placed third with a turnover of 63.19 million shares worth N88.83 million in 635 deals.

    The trio of Zenith International Bank Plc, Champion Breweries Plc and Diamond Bank Plc were the most active, jointly accounting for 252.19 million shares worth N1.82 billion in 1,841 deals, representing 25.46 per cent and 9.68 per cent of the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

  • Equities lose N15b in tight market

    Nigerian equities traded yesterday on a tight rope of bargain-hunting and selloff with every advancer matched with a decliner. Losses recorded by large-cap stocks however overshadowed the overall market position, leaving the market with a net capital loss of N15 billion.

    A running selloff in the fast moving consumer goods sector and the industrial goods sector counterbalanced increased demand for the oil and gas stocks, pushing equities to their third straight negative session.

    The All Share Index (ASI)-the benchmark index for the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), declined by 0.17 per cent to close at 26,201.60 points as against its opening index of 26,245.34 points. Aggregate market value of all quoted equities also dropped from N9.030 trillion to close at N9.015 trillion, representing a loss of N15 billion. The decline yesterday pushed the negative average year-to-date return to -2.50 per cent.

    With 19 advancers to 19 decliners, sectoral indices showed a tight market situation. The NSE Industrial Goods Index declined by 0.3 per cent while the NSE Consumer Goods Index dropped by 0.2 per cent. However, the NSE Insurance index rose by 0.42 per cent. The NSE Banking Index gained 0.4 per cent while the NSE Oil and Gas Index appreciated by 0.10 per cent.

    Nestle Nigeria, Nigeria’s highest-priced company, led the losers with a loss of N3 to close at N752. Forte Oil followed with a loss of N2 to close at N67. Dangote Cement, Nigeria’s most capitalised company, declined by N1 to close at N167. Nigerian Breweries, the second most capitalised company, dropped by 60 kobo to close at N142 while International Breweries declined by 48 kobo to close at N17.50.

    On the positive side, Total Nigeria led the gainers with a gain of N9.52 to close at N294.97. Mobil Oil Nigeria followed with a gain of N3.50 to close at N264. Ecobank Transnational Incorporated chalked up 41 kobo to close at N10.10. Guinness Nigeria added 40 kobo to close at N64.05 while Dangote Sugar Refinery rose by 27 kobo to close at N6.35 per share.

    Total turnover stood at 196.46 million shares valued at N2.61 billion in 3,317 deals. Access Bank was the most active with 31.99 million shares valued at N224.09 million. Diamond Bank followed with 28.4 million shares worth N31.5 million while United Capital traded 24.1 million shares valued at N80.9 million.

    “With current macroeconomic realities dampening investor sentiment, we expect market volatility to persist as performance of the benchmark index remains dictated by short term speculative trading,” analysts at Afrinvest Securities stated.