By Dipo Olowookere
There was a 60 per cent spike in the share price of Ikeja Hotel on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) last week.
The rise in the value of the hospitality stock was a result of a renewed interest in the company, which is gradually taking back its place in the sector after going through a tough time in the past.
The equity value of the organisation, which opened the week at N1.00, closed last week at N1.60. It led the gainers’ log, which had 43 members, higher than 33 of the preceding week.
In the distant second was Linkage Assurance, which gained 30.77 per cent to trade at 85 kobo. Wema Bank appreciated by 23.33 per cent to sell at 74 kobo, Tripple Gee rose by 20.00 per cent to 84 kobo, while Berger Paints chalked up 19.48 per cent to finish at N9.20.
At the other end, there were 26 depreciating equities, lower than 37 of the prior week and on top of the table last week was BOC Gases, which dropped 18.96 per cent to trade at N8.55.
Regency Assurance went down by 14.29 per cent to 42 kobo, Royal Exchange fell by 12.70 per cent to 55 kobo, University Press declined by 8.98 per cent to N1.52, while FTN Cocoa went down by 6.06 per cent to 31 kobo.
In the week, a total of 87 shares closed flat, higher than 85 shares of the previous week.
Last week, the All-Share Index (ASI) and market capitalisation appreciated by 1.47 per cent and 1.49 per cent to close at 38,212.01 points and N19.919 trillion respectively.
Similarly, all other indices finished higher with the exception of oil/gas, and growth indices, which depreciated by 1.05 per cent and 0.17 per cent respectively, while the ASeM, NGX-AFR Bank Value, and sovereign bond indices closed flat.
In terms of the level of activity, investors traded 1.0 billion shares worth N14.2 billion in 17,565 deals as against the 1.0 billion shares valued at N10.3 billion transacted a week earlier in 17,165 deals.
The financial services industry led the activity chart by volume with 721.7 million units worth N6.0 billion traded in 8,709 deals, contributing 70.70 per cent and 42.38 per cent to the total trading volume and value respectively.
The consumer goods sector followed with 99.1 million units worth N2.4 billion in 3,703 deals, while the third place was the ICT counter with a turnover of 72.7 million units worth N3.4 million in 643 deals.
GT HoldCo, Wema Bank and Zenith Bank were the most active stocks, accounting for 213.9 million units worth N3.8 billion in 3,023 deals, contributing 20.95 per cent and 26.99 per cent to the total trading volume and value respectively.