Blue-Chips Lead as Nigerian Stocks Extend Gains by 0.50%

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Nigerian stocks extended gains in midweek trading, closing 0.50 percent higher at the close of transactions.

This was buoyed by upward movements recorded by blue-chip stocks like Nigerian Breweries, Guinness Nigeria, Lafarge, Nestle and Flour Mills of Nigeria.

Investors resumed trading on Wednesday on a high note following the gains recorded yesterday, resulting in halting the two-day bearish activities at the market.

The major market indicators closed today in the green territory led by the All-Share Index (ASI), which appreciated by 184.44 points to settle at 36,905.06 points, while the market capitalisation grew by N64.4 billion.

In addition, the market breadth closed positive with 30 gainers against 18 losers, while the YTD return expanded to 37.32 percent.

Business Post reports that the most active stock today was Transcorp, which traded a total of 34.8 million shares worth N49.7 million.

Claiming the second spot was Fidelity Bank, which transacted 30 million units valued at N39 million, while FBN Holdings traded 28.8 million shares at N173.3 million.

Zenith Bank exchanged 25.6 million shares worth N641.5 million, and GTBank sold 21 million shares valued at N815.3 million.

In total, investors traded 251 million shares worth N3.8 billion executed in 4,047 deals.

On the price movement chart, Nigerian Breweries emerged the biggest gainer with an addition of N4.24k to its share value to settle at N171.25k per share.

It was followed by Guinness Nigeria, which rose by N3.32k to close at N69.87k per share, and Lafarge, which advanced by N2.75k to settle at N57.75k per share.

Furthermore, Nestle progressed by N1.42k to end at N1026.42k per share, while Flour Mills expanded by N1.20k to finish at N29.20k per share.

On the other hand, Seplat shed N17.90k to close at N470.10k per share, while Mobil lost N12.35k to end at N240.65k per share.

Total declined by N8.50k to finish at N261.50k per share, Okomu Oil fell by N3.80k to close at N72.23k per share, and Presco slumped by N2.45k to settle at N74.50k per share.