Market Capitalisation Returns to N11trn After N58bn Gain

By Dipo Olowookere

The market capitalisation of companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) closed above N11 trillion on Thursday after appreciating by N58 billion.

The total value of the listed equities had slipped to the N10 trillion region this Monday, but the 0.53 percent further gained by the local bourse pushed it up above N11 trillion yesterday.

At the close of business, the market cap closed at N11.023 trillion in contrast to N10.965 trillion of the previous session.

In the same vein, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased on Thursday by 154.20 points to settle at 29,347.62 points from 29,193.42 points of the previous day.

GTBank was the day’s biggest price gainer yesterday, appreciating by 70 kobo to settle at N34.25k per unit.

Lafarge Africa rose by 45 kobo to finish at N12 per share, while FBN Holdings also appreciated by 45 kobo to close at N7.80k per share.

GlaxoSmithKline gained 40 kobo during the day to end at N8.95k per share, while Stanbic IBTC increased its share value by 20 kobo to quote at N46 per unit.

At the opposite end, Flour Mills topped the losers’ chart after losing 40 kobo of its share value to close at N16.60k per unit.

Eterna depreciated by 35 kobo to end at N4 per share, while Ikeja Hotels dropped 20 kobo to finish at N1.85k per share.

Zenith Bank declined by 15 kobo to close at N20.45k per unit, while ABC Transport fell by 4 kobo to settle at 44 kobo per unit.

Business Post reports that despite the gains recorded by the market on Thursday, April 11, 2019, the volume of shares traded decreased by 53.49 percent to 224 million from 481.6 million.

Also, the value of transactions on the NSE depreciated by 30.04 percent to N2 billion from N2.9 billion.

Zenith Bank emerged the most actively traded stock yesterday, trading 45.4 million shares worth N927.8 million.

LASACO Insurance exchanged 42.3 million equities valued at N12.7 million, while Access Bank transacted 21.7 million equities valued at N129.3 million.

FBN Holdings exchanged 17.7 million shares worth N131.4 million, while Fidelity Bank traded 13 million shares for N25.3 million.