By Dipo Olowookere
The 0.99 per cent rise recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday increased investors’ wealth by N581 billion at the close of transactions.
This was because the market capitalisation of the exchange, which measures the total value of equities on the bourse, closed at N59.416 trillion today compared with Thursday’s closing value of N58.835 trillion.
This was buoyed by sustained bargain-hunting activities from investors, raising the All-Share Index (ASI) by 1,029.04 points to 105,085.25 points from 104,056.21 points.
GTCO led the gainers’ table today after its share price rose by 9.99 per cent to N48.45, International Breweries expanded by 9.75 9.75 per cent to N4.39, Prestige Assurance improved by 9.26 per cent to 59 Kobo, Julius Berger solidified by 8.20 per cent to N72.60, and MTN Nigeria grew by 7.98 per cent to N267.80.
On the flip side, International Energy Insurance led the losers’ group after it lost 9.63 per cent to trade at N1.22, C&I Leasing depreciated by 8.11 per cent to N3.40, Vitafoam crumbled by 5.56 per cent to N21.25, Transcorp collapsed by 5.49 per cent to N15.50, and Japaul declined by 4.11 per cent to N2.10.
Business Post reports that investor sentiment remained strong on the last trading session of this week, with 15 price gainers and 19 price losers, representing a positive market breadth index.
During the session, traders transacted 217.2 million equities worth N5.0 billion in 6,457 deals, in contrast to the 226.3 million equities worth N7.4 billion traded in 5,823 deals on Thursday, implying a surge in the number of deals by 10.37 per cent, and a fall in the trading volume and value by 4.02 per cent and 32.43 per cent, respectively.
The financial services sector was very active on Friday, dominating the activity chart, with FBN Holdings transacting 29.6 million shares valued at N1.1 billion, and Transcorp trading 25.2 million equities worth N392.2 million. Unity Bank sold 14.1 million stocks for N25.7 million, GTCO exchanged 13.8 million equities worth N645.3 million, and United Capital traded 12.2 million shares valued at N255.0 million.
The drivers for today’s upward movement were the banking, energy, and consumer goods sectors, which appreciated by 2.65 per cent, 0.19 per cent, and 0.16 per cent, respectively, while the industrial goods and insurance indices went down by 0.22 per cent, and 0.02 per cent apiece.
