By Modupe Gbadeyanka
For the first time this week, trading activities on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) closed on a positive note on Wednesday with the major market indices pointing north.
Specifically, the All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 0.93 percent or 377.55 points to settle at 40,992.97 points, while the market capitalisation increased by N136.8 billion to finish at N14.849 trillion.
Business Post reports that the yesterday’s market performance was buoyed by the gains recorded by shares in the Consumer Goods sector.
They were enough of offset the impact of the sell-offs of stocks in the banking industry as investors used the opportunity of the relatively low prices of Consumer Goods equities to increase their portfolio.
At the close of transactions, Nestle Nigeria led the gainers’ table with N27 added to its share value to close at N1600 per share.
It was followed by Dangote Cement, which rose by N6.50k to finish at N250 per share, and Nigerian Breweries, which increased by N2.90k to end at N127.70k per share.
Unilever Nigeria went up by N2.45k to close at N52.35k per share, while Dangote Sugar grew by 45k to settle at N19 per share.
On the flip side, Okomu Oil led the losers’ chart yesterday, depreciating by N4.10k to settle at N78.40k per share.
It was trailed by CCNN, which went down by N1.45k to close at N27.55k per share, and Forte Oil, which reduced by N1.25k to close at N38.70k per share.
GlaxoSmithKline dropped N1.15k to finish at N22.35k per share, while Union Bank reduced by 35k to end at N6.40k per share.
It was observed that the volume of shares transacted at the market on Wednesday went up 27.60 percent, while the value dropped by 1.45 percent.
A total of 259.5 million equities exchanged hands on yesterday in 4,000 deals valued at N4.36 billion compared with the 203.4 million shares sold for N4.43 billion in 4,090 deals.
Dipo Olowookere 
Adedapo Adesanya