NGX Expands by 0.21% as S&P Upgrades Nigeria’s Outlook

By Dipo Olowookere

The first trading session of the new week on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited finished on a positive note by Monday after it closed higher by 0.21 per cent.

The NGX posted the growth yesterday following renewed bargain-hunting in some banking and energy equities trading at prices that give room for appreciation in the coming days.

This was boosted by news over the weekend that a global rating organisation, S&P Ratings, has upgraded Nigeria’s outlook to stable from negative.

Investors reacted to this latest development, showing confidence in the fiscal reforms of President Bola Tinubu.

The ratings agency stated in a statement issued last Friday that, “Nigeria’s newly elected government has moved quickly to implement a series of fiscal and monetary reforms, which we believe will gradually benefit public finances and the balance of payments.”

Business Post reports that investors went to the equity market with this S&P rating, causing the banking space to grow by 0.81 per cent and the energy counter to jump by 0.12 per cent, offsetting the losses printed by the three other key sectors.

The insurance index depreciated yesterday by 1.16 per cent, the consumer goods industry went down by 0.05 per cent, and the industrial goods sector slumped by 0.01 per cent.

The All-Share Index (ASI) was up during the trading day by 138.72 points to 65,336.80 points from 65,198.08 points, and the market capitalisation increased by N75 billion to N35.555 trillion from N35.480 trillion.

The market breadth was flat on Monday, as the stock exchange finished with 25 price gainers and 25 price losers, with investors remaining cautious of happenings in the country.

Enamelware closed the session as the best-performing stock after it added 9.86 per cent to its value to close at N19.50. Wema Bank gained 9.77 per cent to trade at N4.72, University Press improved by 9.73 per cent to N2.48, Sunu Assurances expanded by 9.68 per cent to N1.02, and GlaxoSmithKline rose by 9.55 per cent to N9.75.

Conversely, Omatek declined by 8.82 per cent to 31 Kobo, Prestige Assurance shed 7.84 per cent to 47 Kobo, McNichols depleted by 7.35 per cent to 63 Kobo, Cornerstone Insurance lost 7.22 per cent to quote at 90 Kobo, and Coronation Insurance dropped 5.97 per cent to sell at 63 Kobo.

Yesterday, investors traded 334.3 million shares valued at N3.9 billion in 6,940 deals compared with the 363.2 million shares worth N6.1 per cent traded in 6,644 deals last Friday, showing a rise in the number of deals by 4.46 per cent, and a decline in the trading volume and value by 7.96 per cent, and 36.07 per cent apiece.

After trading 55.1 million stocks worth N197.3 million, Sterling Bank was on top of the activity chart on Monday. FCMB traded 28.3 million equities valued at N173.8 million, Fidelity Bank exchanged 18.8 million shares worth N150.9 million, Japaul transacted 17.4 million stocks valued at N17.0 million, and Access Holdings sold 17.1 million shares for N296.6 million.