By Dipo Olowookere
Oando Plc closed Friday’s session on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited as the highest price gainer after its equity value rose by 9.94 per cent to N5.86.
The news that the energy firm was holding a board meeting to consider its financial statements may have triggered a renewed interest in the company’s equities, causing the stock market to extend its rally by 0.49 per cent at the close of transactions.
Business Post reports that a total of 36 shares appreciated in value yesterday as Eterna gained 9.92 per cent to trade at N6.65, Meyer rose by 9.91 per cent to N2.33, Lafarge Africa improved by 9.89 per cent to N25.55, while Ikeja Hotel appreciated by 9.30 per cent to N1.41.
When the market ended for the session, a total of 18 equities shed weight, with Academy Press losing 10.00 per cent to settle at N1.17. RT Briscoe fell by 8.62 per cent to 53 kobo, Royal Exchange dropped 4.95 per cent to quote at 96 kobo, Caverton declined by 4.07 per cent to N1.18, while Sovereign Trust Insurance depleted by 4.00 per cent to 24 kobo.
On the activity chart, Fidelity Bank ended the day as the most actively traded stock with the sale of 47.2 million units valued at N187.0 million, trailed by Sovereign Trust Insurance, which sold 44.1 million units worth N10.6 million. Zenith Bank exchanged 39.9 million equities worth N990.3 million, Transcorp traded 24.2 million shares for N24.5 million, while Access Holdings transacted 21.7 million stocks for N212.3 million.
A total of 342.1 million shares worth N3.9 billion exchanged hands in 4,976 deals yesterday compared with the 244.7 million shares worth N3.2 billion transacted in 4,859 deals a day earlier, indicating an increase in the trading volume, value and number of deals by 39.82, 22.35 per cent and 2.41 per cent respectively.
Data showed that apart from the insurance sector, which fell by 0.15 per cent, every other sector closed bullish, with the banking space growing by 2.93 per cent, the energy index rising by 1.66 per cent, the consumer goods counter appreciating by 0.76 per cent and the industrial goods landscape improving by 0.62 per cent.
As for the All-Share Index (ASI), it moved up by 235.79 points to 48,459.65 points from 48,223.86 points, while the market capitalisation rose by N127 billion to N26.125 trillion from N25.998 trillion.
