By Dipo Olowookere
Buy interest in banking stocks, particularly tier-1 banks, changed the direction of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited to the bulls on Monday.
Business Post reports that Customs Street rebounded by 0.26 per cent yesterday amid bargain-hunting by investors, with all five big lenders closing on the gainers’ chart.
Data revealed that the banking index rose by 2.45 per cent, the energy counter appreciated by 1.02 per cent, and the consumer goods space improved by 0.15 per cent, while the insurance sector fell by 0.72 per cent, with the industrial goods sector closing flat.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) gained 252.14 points to settle at 97,864.65 points versus the preceding session’s 97,612.51 points, and the market capitalisation increased by N142 billion to close at N55.360 trillion compared with last Friday’s value of N55.218 trillion.
Despite the growth posted by the bourse, investor sentiment remained weak after 22 equities closed lower and 15 equities closed higher, representing a negative market breadth index.
John Holt chalked up 9.60 per cent yesterday to trade at N2.17, Fidelity Bank expanded by 8.43 per cent to N9.00, Conoil increased by 8.36 per cent to N105.00, Mutual Benefits grew by 7.69 per cent to 56 Kobo, and Jaiz Bank advanced by 6.02 per cent to N2.29.
Conversely, the duo of Caverton and CWG topped the losers’ table after losing 10.00 per cent each to settle at N1.26 and N5.40 apiece, C&I Leasing dropped 9.01 per cent to close at N3.13, and FTN Cocoa and RT Briscoe weakened by 8.33 per cent each to quote at N1.10 and 44 Kobo, respectively.
Trading activities waned on Monday after investors transacted 359.1 million shares worth N5.8 billion in 7,881 deals versus the 769.1 million shares worth N15.7 billion exchanged in 7,585 deals last Friday, implying a jump in the number of deals by 3.90 per cent, and a fall in the trading volume and value by 53.31 per cent and 63.06 per cent apiece.
After selling 176.2 million stocks valued at N3.0 billion, Access Holdings ended the trading day on top of the activity chart, followed by FBN Holdings, which transacted 46.1 million equities worth N978.7 million. UBA exchanged 21.2 million shares for N432.8 million, Fidelity Bank traded 17.7 million stocks valued at N156.2 million, and FTN Cocoa sold 10.8 million equities for N11.9 million.
