By Dipo Olowookere
CWG Plc and Learn Africa Plc ended Friday’s trading session at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited as the best-performing stocks after they appreciated by 10.00 per cent each to quote at N1.32 and N2.42, respectively.
They were among the 37 equities that finished on the gainers’ chart at the close of transactions, outweighing the impact of the 12 shares that closed on the decliners’ group.
International Energy Insurance gained 9.73 per cent to sell at N1.24, Custodian Investment grew by 9.65 per cent to N6.25, and Meyer increased by 9.46 per cent to N2.43.
On the flip side, Transcorp led the losers’ log due to sustained profit-taking after Mr Femi Otedola offloaded his stake, shedding 9.77 per cent yesterday to close at N1.94. Living Trust Insurance lost 9.73 per cent to trade at N2.69, McNichols went down by 9.72 per cent to 65 Kobo, Veritas Kapital depreciated by 4.76 per cent to 20 Kobo, and Jaiz Bank dropped 4.21 per cent to 91 Kobo.
It was observed the energy counter appreciated by 2.39 per cent, the banking index grew by 1.37 per cent, the consumer goods counter rose by 0.49 per cent, the insurance space improved by 0.40 per cent, and the industrial goods sector increased by 0.09 per cent.
The positive performance of all the key sub-sectors of the exchange moved the market higher by 0.34 per cent at the close of transactions.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) jumped by 175.77 points to 52,466.52 points from 52,290.75 points as the market capitalisation rose by N95 billion to N28.568 trillion from N28.473 trillion.
Business Post reports that the level of activity waned on Friday as the trading volume, value, and the number of deals depreciated by 62.00 per cent, 20.00 per cent and 11.15 per cent, respectively.
This was because the investors transacted 482.6 million shares worth N5.6 billion in 5,298 deals compared with the 1.3 billion shares worth N7.0 billion traded in 5,963 deals on Thursday.
Access Holdings traded 168.8 million stocks worth N1.9 billion, UBA sold 53.5 million equities worth N422.4 million, Fidelity Bank transacted 36.0 million equities valued at N206.1 million, Zenith Bank sold 33.2 million equities for N796.0 million, and Coronation Insurance exchanged 30.7 million stocks for N13.5 million.