Stock Market Gains N366b as Index Post 3.49% Rise

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Bulls continued dominance on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Friday, extending the rally at the close of trading for the week today for the eighth consecutive trading session.

Business Post reports that the major market indicators pointed northward when transactions closed for the day at the stock market with the All-Share Index (ASI) rising by 3.49 percent or 1057.49 points to close at 31,371.63 points, while the market capitalisation increased by N366 billion to settle at N10.845 trillion.

The renewed confidence investors have in Nigeria’s capital market weighed on the positive performance of the market on Friday, while the bullish trend was mainly driven by gains in Nestle, Dangote Cement and 49 other stocks.

At the close of trading activities today, the number of equities that depreciated in price stood at 8, while the year-to-date return rose to 16.73 percent.

Nestle gained N43.75k to close at N918.76k per share to top the gainers’ chart, while Dngote Cement followed with a rise of N9.18k to finish at N192.93k per share.

ConOil rose by N3.45k to end at N37.35k per share, CAP Plc advanced by N3.28k to settle at N35.33k per share and Nigerian Breweries added N3.15k to wrap the day at N160.5k per share.

But at the other end, Mobil fell by N8.87k to finish at N290 per share, while University Press Plc dropped 20k to close at N3.83k per share.

Custodian and Allied Plc depreciated by 10k to end at N3.60k per share, Law Union & Rock Insurance Plc slumped by 8k to finish at 90k per share, and C & I Leasing Plc declined by 3k to end at 66k per share.

Our correspondent reports that at the close of trading activities on Friday, investors exchanged a total of 708 million shares worth N8.3 billion executed in 6,039 deals.