Stock Market Rises 0.96% as Rush for Banking Stocks Persists

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Transactions on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Monday closed in the green territory as bulls continue to tighten their grip on the market.

At the close of trading activities today, the Nigerian stocks rose by 0.96 percent as bargain hunting persisted.

The rush for banking stocks by investors maintained its momentum with Wema Bank emerging the most active, accounting for 63 million shares traded at N36.2 million.

It was closely followed by GTBank, which transacted 50 million units at N1.8 billion, while Access Bank exchanged 34.5 million shares valued at N345 million.

Furthermore, Transcorp sold 32 million shares worth N58.7 million, while Fidelity Bank traded 31.7 million shares valued at N41.6 million.

However, the volume and value of shares transacted on the floor of the NSE declined on Monday with investors staking N5.7 billion on 483 million shares executed in 5,771 deals in contrast to N6.2 billion staked on 493 million shares transacted in 5,474 deals last Friday.

Analysis of the market indicators showed that the All-Share Index (ASI) increased today by 324.54 points to close at 34,135.10 points, crossing the 34,000 mark for the first time in many months.

In addition, the market capitalisation rose by N112 billion to settle at N11.8 trillion, while the YTD Return increased to 27.02 percent.

Investors’ sentiment remained positive on Monday, with the market closing with 28 stocks appreciating in price against 19 equities, which depreciated. However, only nine stocks remained flat at the close of activities.

On the price movement chart, Dangote Cement topped the gainers’ log with N5 gain to close at N210 per share.

It was trailed by Presco, which progressed by N3.61k to finish at N75.94k per share and International Breweries, which advanced by N2.30k to end at N28.35k per share.

Stanbic IBTC gained N1.45k to finish at N32.45k per share, while Ecobank moved up by N1.2k to wrap the day at N15.35k per share.

At the other end, Mobil suffered the heaviest loss after dropping N13.20k to close at N250.90k per share and was followed by CAP Plc, which shed N3.60k to end at N34.20k per share.

Forte Oil lost N2.77k to close at N52.81k per share, Zenith Bank deflated by 39k to finish at N22.50k per share and Oando weakened by 34k to settle at N8.2k per share.