Nigerian Stocks Recover to Close 0.17% Higher

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Trading activities on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) closed positive on Tuesday after losing in the last two previous sessions.

Gains recorded by large stocks in the Industrial goods and Consumer goods sectors were enough to offset the losses in the other sectors, leaving the market 0.17 percent higher at the close of business with the year-to-date returns expanding slightly to 5.90 percent.

The All-Share Index (ASI) rose yesterday by 69.86 points to settle at 40,499.04 points, while the market capitalisation increased by N25.2 billion to finish at N14.629 trillion.

It was observed that the volume of trades on Tuesday increased significantly, though the value of transactions slightly went down.

A total of 388.3 million shares were traded yesterday in 4,222 deals worth N4.2 billion compared with the 287 million equities transacted the previous day in 4,285 deals valued at N4.9 billion.

Sovereign Trust Insurance was investors’ toast on Tuesday, emerging the most traded stock after selling 82.5 million units worth N16.5 million.

It was trailed by Zenith Bank, which executed 44 million shares for N1.2 billion, and Skye Bank, which sold 37.5 million equities valued at N24.3 million.

Flour Mills exchanged 32.2 million shares for N1.2 billion, while Access Bank traded 30 million shares for N361.3 million.

Business Post reports that the market breadth finished negative again with 16 price risers and 27 price fallers.

Mobil Nigeria topped the gainers chart on Tuesday after adding N8.50k to its share value to finish at N178.50k per share.

It was trailed by Dangote Cement, which grew by N3 to close at N255 per share, and International Breweries, which increased by N2.35k to end at N51.50k per share.

Lafarge improved by N1.40k to settle at N42.40k per share, while Dangote Sugar went up by 55k to close at N22 per share.

On the flip side, Total Nigeria emerged the heaviest price loser, shedding N2.80k to settle at N233.80k per share.

Unilever Nigeria went down by N1.90k to close at N53.10k per share, while Forte Oil depreciated by N1.40k to end at N38.60k per share.

Zenith Bank declined by 55k to settle at N26.35k per share, while GTBank reduced by 50k to finish at N43 per share.