Market Witnesses High Demand for Fidelity Bank, MTN Stocks

By Dipo Olowookere

The nation’s stock market started on a positive note on Monday, closing 0.12 per cent higher as results of the key players in the market have started to come in.

Yesterday, investors had time to chew the Q1 2021 earnings of UBA released on Sunday and they were happy with the impressive performance of the tier-one lender as it recorded double-digit growth across key performance indicators.

Also, Business Post observed a huge demand for the shares of MTN Nigeria and Fidelity Bank at the market on Monday and the transactions had a significant impact on the activity chart.

According to data from the exchange, a total of 508.6 million equities worth N32.1 billion exchanged hands in 4,323 deals yesterday compared with the 262.5 million equities worth N2.5 billion transacted in 3,525 deals last Friday.

This indicated that the trading volume rose by 93.74 per cent, the trading value increased by 1216.61 per cent and the number of deals appreciated by 22.64 per cent.

MTN Nigeria accounted for 181.7 million shares worth N29.7 billion, Fidelity Bank accounted for 106.9 million stocks worth N224.8 million, FBN Holdings traded 35.0 million equities valued at N267.2 million, UAC Nigeria exchanged 20.4 million stocks for N209.0 million, while Zenith Bank traded 18.2 million equities valued at N392.8 million.

During the session, FCMB recorded the highest gain with a growth of 9.77 per cent to trade at N2.92, followed by Northern Nigerian Flour Mills, which gained 9.35 per cent to sell for N5.85.

University Press appreciated by 9.35 per cent to N1.17, Honeywell Flour rose by 9.24 per cent to N1.30, while Mutual Benefits Assurance gained 8.82 per cent to close at 37 kobo.

On the flip side, FTN Cocoa lost 10.00 per cent to sell for 45 kobo, Unity Bank shed 7.81 per cent to trade at 59 kobo, UAC Property lost 5.06 per cent to finish at 75 kobo, Jaiz Bank depreciated by 4.69 per cent to 61 kobo, while Africa Prudential declined by 4.55 per cent to N5.25.

On Monday, the insurance, banking and consumer goods sectors closed higher by 0.40 per cent, 0.30 per cent and 0.10 per cent respectively, while the energy space lost 0.20 per cent, with the industrial goods counter closing flat.

As for the All-Share Index (ASI), it increased by 46.72 points to 38,854.73 points from 38,808.01 points, while the market capitalisation jumped by N24 billion to N20.334 trillion from N20.310 trillion.