Equity Investors Smile Home With N59bn

By Dipo Olowookere

Portfolios of equity investors at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited further increased by 0.10 per cent on Tuesday ahead of the release of financial statements of companies for the first six months of this year.

Also, the sustained buying pressure expanded the benchmark index by 0.11 per cent during the session, with the All-Share Index (ASI) growing by 109.31 points to close at 100,075.59 points compared with the previous trading session’s 99,966.28 points.

In the same vein, the market capitalisation, which measures the value of the bourse, gained N59 billion to settle at N56.670 trillion versus Monday’s closing value of N56.611 trillion.

The insurance counter closed higher by 0.67 per cent, the banking space appreciated by 0.61 per cent, and the industrial goods index improved by 0.07 per cent.

However, the energy sector went down by 0.26 per cent, and the consumer goods counter depreciated by 0.07 per cent.

A total of 19 stocks gained weight yesterday, while 15 stocks lost weight, indicating a positive market breadth index and a bullish investor sentiment.

United Capital topped the gainers’ chart after it chalked up 10.00 per cent to sell for N33.00, Cutix soared by 9.84 per cent to N5.58, Sunu Assurances advanced by 7.75 per cent to N1.39, Cornerstone Insurance surged by 7.69 per cent to N2.10, and UAC Nigeria enlarged by 7.42 per cent to N15.20.

On the flip side, Red Star Express deflated by 9.82 per cent to N3.95, McNichols waned by 9.01 per cent to N1.01, Deap Capital slumped by 5.77 per cent to 49 Kobo, Eterna depreciated by 4.44 per cent to N17.20, and Universal Insurance lost 2.78 per cent to settle at 35 Kobo.

Zenith Bank topped the activity chart during the session after it transacted 57.4 million shares for N2.3 billion, Access Holdings exchanged 36.8 million equities valued at N707.2 million, GTCO traded 29.2 million stocks for N1.3 billion, Jaiz Bank sold 28.3 million shares worth N60.9 million, and UBA traded 20.3 million stocks valued at N466.2 million.

At the close of business, 368.4 million equities worth N7.4 billion exchanged hands in 8,151 deals on Tuesday, in contrast to the 362.4 million equities valued at N7.4 billion traded in 8,405 deals on Monday, indicating a rise in the trading volume by 1.65 per cent, and a decline in the number of deals by 3.02 per cent. The trading value, on its part, was flat.