Dipo Olowookere
By Dipo Olowookere
The first trading session in the last quarter of the year ended on a positive note with a 0.59 per cent growth buoyed by the strong appetite for BUA Cement stocks.
Over the weekend, the management of the cement maker announced a reduction in the ex-factory price of its product to N3,500 per 50kg, attracting commendations from its consumers and those of its rivals, especially Dangote Cement’s customers.
On the first trading day of October, the share price of the company’s equities moved up by 9.94 per cent to N94.00, emerging as the best-performing stock.
It topped the group of 24 price gainers recorded at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Tuesday, with Beta Glass trailing after it chalked up 9.93 per cent to trade at N66.95. FTN Cocoa rose by 9.93 per cent to sell for N1.66, Oando grew by 9.55 per cent to N8.60, and UAC Nigeria increased its value by 8.50 per cent to N10.85.
On the flip side, there were 24 price losers led by Linkage Assurance, which fell by 10.00 per cent to 72 Kobo, CWG went down by 9.94 per cent to N7.79, Red Star Express dropped 9.86 per cent to settle at N2.65, Tantalizers fell by 9.38 per cent to 29 Kobo, and UPDC REIT shrank by 8.97 per cent to N3.55.
Business Post reports that the rush for BUA Cement jerked up the industrial goods index by 3.53 per cent, and the banking sector appreciated by 0.31 per cent.
However, the insurance counter depreciated by 1.81 per cent, and the consumer goods space went down by 0.41 per cent, while the energy sector closed flat.
When trading activities closed for the session, the All-Share Index (ASI) moved up by 388.83 points to 66,770.97 points from 66,382.14 points, and the market capitalisation grew by N213 billion to N36.544 trillion from N36.331 trillion.
A total of 364.3 million shares valued at N3.9 billion exchanged hands in 7,537 deals yesterday versus the 292.9 million shares worth N4.5 billion transacted in 6,323 deals last Friday, representing a decline in the trading value by 13.33 per cent, an increase in the trading volume by 24.38 per cent and jump in the number of deals by 19.20 per cent.
Consolidated Hallmark Insurance was the most traded stock during the session for selling 71.5 million units valued at N94.7 million, Fidelity Bank sold 33.2 million units for N272.3 million, Oando exchanged 26.2 million units worth N219.7 million, GTCO traded 21.4 million units valued at N752.7 million, and Access Holdings transacted 19.9 million units worth N318.6 million.
