By Dipo Olowookere
Traders at Customs Street had a reason to smile on Friday after the stock market rebounded by 0.24 per cent on the back of the gross domestic growth figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
On the previous day, the agency released the unemployment numbers and stirred controversies after it said the unemployment rate in Nigeria dropped to 4.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2023, a sharp contrast to the 33.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2020, the last time the numbers were made public.
While stock investors and others were still dissecting the report, the NBS released the GDP figures, and it was revealed that the country’s economy grew by 2.51 per cent in the second quarter of this year.
This brightened the mood of the investing community, raising the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited higher to the green territory at the close of business.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) moved up by 157.09 points to 65,558.91 points from 65,401.82 points, and the market capitalisation increased by N86 billion to N35.881 trillion from N35.795 trillion.
Business Post reports that all the key sectors of the bourse attracted the attention of investors yesterday, with the consumer goods, energy, banking, insurance, and industrial goods indices rising by 1.08 per cent, 0.26 per cent, 0.14 per cent, 0.12 per cent, and 0.02 per cent apiece.
Also, investor sentiment was strong during the trading session after the exchange ended, with 31 price gainers and 23 price losers, indicating a positive market breadth index.
SFS REIT was the biggest price gainer after it chalked up 9.97 per cent to quote at N83.80, NASCON rose by 9.95 per cent to N44.75, FTN Cocoa improved by 9.94 per cent to N1.99, NEM Insurance appreciated by 9.90 per cent to N5.66, and Red Star Express gained 9.89 per cent to sell for N2.89.
The heaviest price loser was Prestige Assurance after it dropped 9.43 per cent to 48 Kobo, Tantalizers had 9.38 per cent sliced from its price to 29 Kobo, Omatek lost 9.09 per cent to finish at 30 Kobo, Mutual Benefits declined by 8.89 per cent to 41 Kobo, and Guinea Insurance dwindled by 7.41 per cent to 25 Kobo.
It was observed that despite the growth recorded by the NGX yesterday, the activity level was low, as the trading volume, value, and the number of deals depreciated by 38.95 per cent, 67.44 per cent, and 5.73 per cent, respectively.
This was because a total of 356.0 million equities valued at N4.2 billion were transacted in 6,569 deals on Friday compared with the 583.1 million equities worth N12.9 billion traded in 6,968 deals on Thursday.
Transcorp refused to relinquish its position on top of the activity chart on the last trading session of the week after posting a turnover of 76.7 million stocks valued at N442.1 million.
Fidelity Bank sold 53.0 million shares worth N376.9 million, Universal Insurance exchanged 17.8 million equities for N3.7 million, FCMB traded 16.7 million stocks valued at N98.8 million, and Dangote Sugar transacted 16.6 million shares worth N773.9 million.
Adedapo Adesanya