Dipo Olowookere
By Dipo Olowookere
The first trading session at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended bullish on Monday with a 1.45 per cent growth inspired by sustained buying pressure.
Investors showed renewed interest in the local stock market as a result of the solid third-quarter earnings of companies listed on the trading platform.
It was observed that traders were mopping up shares of organisations across the sectors and categories in anticipation of higher return on investment in the coming weeks.
Analysis of the data from the bourse indicated that 45 equities were on the price gainers’ log and 16 stocks finished on the losers’ chart, representing a positive market breadth and a strong investor sentiment.
Northern Nigerian Flour Mills closed as the best-performing stock yesterday after it grew its value by 10.00 per cent to N18.15, and Chellarams rose by 9.77 per cent to N3.82. UAC Nigeria improved by 9.54 per cent to N14.35, NAHCO gained 9.45 per cent to trade at N26.05, and The Initiates increased by 9.43 per cent to N1.16.
On the flip side, Meyer lost 9.87 per cent to finish at N2.74, Abbey Mortgage Bank declined by 9.71 per cent to close at N1.86, Regency Assurance fell by 8.33 per cent to 33 Kobo, RT Briscoe fell by 6.00 per cent to 47 Kobo, and Jaiz Bank depleted by 5.95 per cent to N1.58.
Business Post reports that apart from the energy index which closed flat, every other sector ended in the green territory, with the industrial goods space rising by 2.99 per cent.
Further, the banking sector improved by 1.20 per cent, the insurance counter appreciated by 0.86 per cent, and the consumer goods space increased by 0.44 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) jumped by 975.13 points to 68,111.71 points from 67,136.58 points and the market capitalisation grew by N536 billion to N37.421 trillion from N36.885 trillion.
The market was very busy on Monday, with the trading volume, value and the number of deals growing by 100.93 per cent, 59.62 per cent and 43.77 per cent, respectively.
Investors transacted 430.4 million shares worth N8.3 billion in 7,656 deals compared with the 214.2 million shares worth N5.2 billion transacted in 5,325 deals in the preceding trading session.
Universal Insurance closed the day as the busiest stock after it traded 94.3 million units for N23.1 million, UBA sold 51.3 million units for N1.0 billion, Custodian Investment transacted 33.3 million units valued at N242.0 million, Transcorp exchanged 32.5 million units worth N200.9 million, and Zenith Bank traded 24.4 million units valued at N818.5 million.
