Equity Market Gains 1.09% as Ministers Take Oath

By Dipo Olowookere

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) finished 1.09 percent higher on Wednesday to reverse the bearish closure of the previous session.

Investors reacted positively to the swearing in of the 43 Ministers appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari to drive his Next Level agenda.

Of huge interest to investors was the retaining of Mrs Zainab Ahmed as the Minister of Finance, while a former Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr Timipre Silva was picked by the President as Minister of State for Petroleum.

At the close of transactions on the floor of the NSE, the All-Share Index (ASI) appreciated by 294.32 points to settle at 27,352.94 points, while the market capitalisation increased by N120.7 billion to finish at N13.307 trillion.

A look at the sectoral performance showed that the consumer goods sector was the biggest gainer, going up by 3.46 percent and followed by the insurance industry, which improved by 1.85 percent, with the banking sector closing 0.39 percent higher.

However, the oil and gas index went down by 0.74 percent, while the industrial sector depreciated by 0.08 percent.

Business Post reports that the renewed buying pressure witnessed yesterday resulted in the market breadth closing positive with 23 price gainers and 16 price losers.

Topping the gainers’ chart was Nestle Nigeria, which went up by N78.80k to settle at N1200 per share, with MTN Nigeria following with a gain of N3.40k to finish at N136 per unit.

Ecobank appreciated by 60 kobo to close at N6.85k per share, Dangote Sugar improved its share value by 50 kobo to end at N9.60k per unit, while C&I Leasing increased by the same amount, 50 kobo, to trade at N6.70k per share.

At the other end, Okomu Oil dominated the price losers’ table after suffering a decline of N4.50k to finish at N44.50k per share.

Forte Oil, which followed, depreciated by N1.70k to close at N15.30k per unit, while International Breweries went down by 50 kobo to end at N11.50k per unit.

Access Bank declined yesterday by 30 kobo to finish at N6.20k per unit, while Cadbury Nigeria also depleted by 30 kobo to close at N9 per share.

On the activity chart, UBA was investors’ delight as the lender sold 64.7 million units of its shares worth N381.9 million at the market on Wednesday.

Access Bank transacted 58.1 million equities for N372.3 million, while GTBank traded 44 million shares valued at N1.2 billion. FBN Holdings exchanged 36.1 million shares for N177.9 million, while Zenith Bank transacted 34.6 million equities worth N608.1 million.

At the close of business, the volume of shares traded by investors increased by 73.63 percent from 209.6 million to 364.0 million, while the value of the transactions went up 39.54 percent from N3.2 billion to N4.5 billion.