Customs Street Rallies 0.20% as Buying Pressure Persists

By Dipo Olowookere

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited further appreciated by 0.20 per cent on Tuesday on the back of sustained buying pressure on stocks across sectors, though the energy space was down by 0.05 per cent due to profit-taking in Oando.

The insurance was up by 0.98 per cent, the industrial goods counter improved by 0.85 per cent, the banking index appreciated by 0.43 per cent, and the consumer goods industry went up by 0.28 per cent, while the commodity sector closed flat.

As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) gained 401.36 points to finish at 139,796.11 points compared with the preceding day’s 139,394.75 points and the market capitalisation garnered N254 billion to settle at N88.453 trillion versus Monday’s N88.199 trillion.

Business Post reports that there were 36 appreciating stocks and 19 depreciating stocks at the Nigerian bourse yesterday, representing a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.

The biggest price gainer for the session was Regency Alliance after it chalked up 10.00 per cent to trade at N1.43, as Mecure rose by 9.92 per cent to N21.60, eTranzact gained 9.73 per cent to trade at N12.40, DAAR Communications appreciated by 9.57 per cent to N1.03, and Deap Capital improved by 9.52 per cent to N1.84.

On the flip side, Unilever Nigeria recorded the heaviest fall after it lost 9.79 per cent to quote at N63.15, FTN Cocoa declined by 9.40 per cent to N5.40, Ellah Lakes slipped by 8.76 per cent to N13.02, Linkage Assurance depreciated by 6.85 per cent to N2.04, and Berger Paints shrank by 6.33 per cent to N35.50.

The most active equity for the day on Customs Street was FCMB because it posted a turnover of 202.5 million units worth N2.1 billion, closely followed by Universal Insurance, which traded 63.1 million units for N79.4 million. First Holdco exchanged 44.2 million units valued at N1.3 billion, Regency Alliance transacted 31.0 million units worth N43.8 million, and Access Holdings sold 26.1 million units valued at N676.4 million.

At the close of trades, the market participants bought and sold 659.2 million units worth N12.5 billion in 25,334 deals compared with the 947.9 million units valued at N18.0 billion traded in 36,036 deals a day earlier, implying a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 30.46 per cent, 30.56 per cent, and 29.70 per cent, respectively.