Fidelity Bank Closes Week as Best-Performing Stock on NGX

By Dipo Olowookere

Last week on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, Fidelity Bank Plc outperformed others to emerge as the best-performing stock, sitting on top of the gainers’ chart with a week-on-week 22.89 per cent price appreciation to settle at N10.20.

The second best performer was Dangote Sugar, which rose by 20.51 per cent to N47.00, NASCON gained 20.15 per cent to trade at N40.85, FCMB appreciated by 17.65 per cent to N8.00, and UBA increased by 15.63 per cent to N22.20.

Fidelity Bank recorded the sterling performance due to demand for its equities after the recent dividend payout to shareholders for the 2023 fiscal year.

On the flip C&I Leasing was the worst-performing equity after it shed 13.66 per cent to close at N2.97, NPF Microfinance Bank depreciated by 11.11 per cent to N1.60, FTN Cocoa lost 8.33 per cent to trade at N1.10, Learn Africa declined by 6.25 per cent to sell for N3.30, and Fidson plunged by 5.40 per cent to N14.90.

In the five-day trading week, 45 shares gained weight versus 24 shares, while 25 stocks depreciated versus 53 stocks of the preceding week, with 84 equities closing flat versus 76 equities a week earlier.

It was observed that the buying pressure lifted the bourse by 1.73 per cent, with the All-Share Index (ASI) and the market capitalisation closing higher at 99,300.38 points and N56.172 trillion, respectively.

Also, all other indices finished higher apart from the industrial goods and the growth indices, which lost 0.13 per cent and 0.29 per cent apiece, while the ASeM and sovereign bond indices closed flat.

Business Post reports that traders bought and sold 2.189 billion shares worth N31.303 billion in 39,362 deals compared with the 1.986 billion shares valued at N40.715 billion traded in 38,487 deals the previous week.

Financial equities dominated the activity chart with 1.914 billion units sold for N23.922 billion in 21,717 deals, contributing 87.41 per cent and 76.42 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.

Energy shares followed with 55.349 million units worth N3.093 billion in 2,109 deals, and agricultural stocks transacted 45.085 million units valued at N377.619 million in 1,615 deals.

Abbey Mortgage Bank, Access Holdings, and Zenith Bank accounted for 1.129 billion shares worth N14.914 billion in 6,494 deals, contributing 51.57 per cent and 47.64 per cent to the total trading volume and value apiece.