Economy
Local Equities Regain Strength as Investors Gain N33bn
By Dipo Olowookere
Data about Nigeria’s rising debt and inflation had a minor impact on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday, as late bargain-hunting lifted the bourse by 0.09 per cent at the close of business.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said yesterday that inflation rose by 25.80 per cent in August from 24.08 per cent in July, just as the Debt Management Office (DMO) revealed that the country’s debt rose by 75.3 per cent to N87.38trn in the second quarter of this year.
Investors shrugged off these concerns, including news that Brent sold at $94 per barrel, to mop up some equities with sound fundamentals, particularly MTN Nigeria, Zenith Bank, and others.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 60.44 points to 67,395.74 points from 67,335.30 points, and the market capitalisation grew by N33 billion to N36.886 trillion from N36.853 trillion.
It was observed that at midday, the stock exchange was looking like the bears would maintain the dominance until things changed due to strong investor sentiment, leading to 29 stocks finishing on the gainers’ table, as 19 stocks ended on the losers’ log, indicating a positive market breadth index.
Chams finished on top of the gainers’ chart after its value rose by 10.00 per cent to N1.10, Cutix gained 9.95 per cent to settle at N2.43, Cornerstone improved by 9.38 per cent to N1.40, Caverton jumped by 8.46 per cent to N1.41, and United Capital surged by 8.13 per cent to N17.30.
Leading the losers’ gang was Conoil, which fell by 10.00 per cent to N89.10, MRS Oil shed 9.96 per cent to close at N98.55, ABC Transport went down by 9.64 per cent to 75 Kobo, Tantalizers dropped 9.52 per cent to 38 Kobo, and Neimeth crumbled by 9.36 per cent to N1.55.
Business Post reports that the insurance, banking and consumer goods sectors appreciated by 2.15 per cent, 0.48 per cent, and 0.37 per cent apiece, as the energy and industrial goods counters depreciated by 1.80 per cent and 0.08 per cent, respectively.
The activity level waned on the last trading session of the week, with the trading volume, value, and the number of deals going down by 48.14 per cent, 63.38 per cent, and 20.86 per cent apiece as investors transacted 408.9 million shares valued at N5.2 billion in 6,972 deals versus the 788.5 million shares worth N14.2 billion exchanged in 8,810 deals on Thursday.
Sterling Holdings traded 82.3 million equities worth N314.2 million to lead the activity chart, Transcorp traded 59.7 million shares valued at N364.9 million, UBA transacted 48.1 million stocks for N787.6 million, GTCO sold 26.4 million equities for N926.9 million, and Oando exchanged 21.9 million shares valued at N231.3 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
Renewed buying interest raised the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited by 0.33 per cent on Monday, with gains recorded in almost all the major sectors of the bourse at the close of transactions.
According to data harvested by Business Post, the insurance counter expanded by 0.62 per cent, the banking index grew by 0.59 per cent, the energy sector appreciated by 0.40 per cent, and the consumer goods space improved by 0.10 per cent, while the industrial goods segment closed flat.
When the closing gong was struck by 4 pm to signify the close of business on Customs Street, the All-Share Index (ASI) was up by 1,113.76 points to 243,707.07 points from 242,593.31 points, and the market capitalisation chalked up N714 billion to close at N156.308 trillion compared with the previous session’s N155.594 trillion.
Interest in Nigerian stocks yesterday resulted in a rise in the activity level, with the trading volume soaring by 17.86 per cent to 717.2 million units from 608.5 million units. The trading value advanced by 77.19 per cent to N56.7 billion from N32.0 billion, and the number of deals surged by 36.22 per cent to 73,321 deals from 53,826 deals.
FCMB was the busiest stock during the trading day, with a turnover of 152.3 million units worth N1.8 billion, Premier Paints exchanged 61.0 million units valued at N135.3 million, Dangote Cement traded 34.7 million units for N29.7 billion, The Initiates sold 32.8 million units worth N1.0 billion, and Jaiz Bank transacted 32.6 million units valued at N293.3 million.
Yesterday, the market breadth index was positive after the exchange closed with 37 price gainers and 28 price losers, representing strong investor sentiment.
International Energy Insurance gained 9.92 per cent to settle at N7.98, the Initiates added 9.91 per cent to its share price to quote at N32.15, ABC Transport garnered 9.68 per cent to trade at N6.80, Abbey Mortgage Bank grew by 9.63 per cent to close at N10.25, and Linkage Assurance soared by 9.36 per cent to N1.87.
On the flip side, Fidson Healthcare gave up 10.00 per cent to finish at N122.85, Academy Press crashed by 9.70 per cent to N7.45, RT Briscoe depreciated by 9.43 per cent to N13.45, SUNU Assurances tumbled by 9.37 per cent to N4.06, and Learn Africa decreased by 8.70 per cent to N10.50.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a marginal 0.05 per cent drop on Monday, June 8, depleting the market capitalisation by N1.27 billion to N2.606 trillion from N2.607 trillion, and cutting the Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 2.12 points to 4,356.20 points from the previous 4,358.32 points.
The contraction witnessed during the session was triggered by a price loser, which overpowered that gains recorded by two securities on the trading platform.
Data indicated that MRS Oil Plc lost N6 at the close of business to settle at N165.00 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N171.00 per share.
Conversely, Lighthouse Financial Services Plc added 9 Kobo to sell at N1.03 per unit versus 94 Kobo per unit, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc appreciated by 8 Kobo to N78.48 per share from N78.40 per share.
The volume of securities traded by investors yesterday soared by 51.9 per cent to 213,188 units from 140,345 units, and the value of securities increased by 12.6 per cent to N20.2 million from N17.9 million, while the number of deals executed fell by 7.4 per cent to 25 deals from 27 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 64.8 million units exchanged for N4.4 billion.
GNI Plc also remained as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira opened the new trading week on a negative note on Monday at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) and the black market.
At the parallel market, the Nigerian currency weakened against the US Dollar by N5 to sell for N1,380/$1 compared with the preceding session’s rate of N1,375/$1, and at the GTBank FX desk, it shed N1 to trade at N1,373/$1 versus N1,372/$1.
At the official market, it lost 63 Kobo or 0.05 per cent against the Dollar during the session to close at N1,362.84/$1, in contrast to last Friday’s value of N1,362.21/$1.
However, the Nigerian Naira gained N2.30 against the Pound Sterling at the spot market yesterday, quoting at N1,821.29/£1 compared with the previous rate of N1,823.59/£1, and improved against the Euro by 23 Kobo to settle at N1,574.35/€1 versus N1,574.58/€1.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that interbank forex turnover increased to $92.248 million across 90 deals, from $73.565 million last Friday.
On the policy front, participants believed that the application of the fourth edition of the Foreign Exchange Manual of the central bank, which introduces updated guidelines for foreign exchange transactions and tightening compliance requirements for authorised dealers and market participants, will enhance market flexibility and ease previous restrictions.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market snapped from recent declines, jolted by Strategy’s purchase of 1,550 Bitcoin for approximately $101 million, increasing its total holdings to 845,256 BTC. The company raised $181 million through common stock sales, using the proceeds to fund the bitcoin purchase and increase its cash reserves to $1 billion, pushing the price of the coin higher by 3.2 per cent to $63,731.69.
Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 8.4 per cent to $0.1738, Ethereum (ETH) rose by 5.2 per cent to $1,711.54, Solana (SOL) expanded by 5.1 per cent to $67.82, and Ripple (XRP) improved by 4.9 per cent to $1.18.
Further, Dogecoin (DOGE) jumped by 4.3 per cent to $0.0873, Binance Coin (BNB) soared by 2.7 per cent to $609.50, and TRON (TRX) increased by 0.7 per cent to $0.3274, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $0.9997 and $0.9998, respectively.
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