By Dipo Olowookere
Trading indices of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited closed positive on Thursday as they nudged higher by 0.05 per cent at the close of transactions.
It was observed that investors showed interest in the Nigerian stock market during the session, though the level of activity waned, according to data obtained by Business Post.
A total of 132.6 million shares worth N3.1 billion exchanged hands in 2,999 deals yesterday compared with the 411.2 million shares worth N6.4 billion transacted in 2,992 deals in the midweek session.
This showed that the volume of trades went down by 67.75 per cent, the value of transactions depreciated by 51.56 per cent, and the number of deals increased by 0.23 per cent.
A breakdown of the trades indicated that FBN Holdings was the busiest equity during the session, as it sold 29.1 million units, while Sterling Bank traded 18.4 million units. Nigerian Breweries sold 10.5 million units, GTCO exchanged 6.6 million units, and Fidelity Bank transacted 5.4 million units.
The major driver of the bullish performance of the stock exchange on Thursday was the buying interest in shares in the energy and consumer goods sectors, which grew by 0.26 per cent and 0.04 per cent apiece.
They offset the 0.31 per cent, 0.21 per cent, and 0.11 per cent losses posted by the insurance, industrial goods and banking sectors, respectively.
When the bourse finished for the trading day, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 24.00 points to 49,499.43 points from 49,475.43 points, while the market capitalisation went up by N13 billion to N26.961 trillion from N26.948 trillion.
Investor sentiment remained slightly strong as the market breadth closed positive, with 15 price losers and 17 price gainers led by Julius Berger, which appreciated by 9.91 per cent to N23.30. Champion Breweries grew by 9.30 per cent to N4.70, Ardova gained 9.20 per cent to trade at N19.00, Thomas Wyatt rose by 8.82 per cent to 74 Kobo, and Japaul improved by 7.69 per cent to 28 Kobo.
Conversely, UPDC REIT suffered the heaviest loss during the session after its price declined by 6.45 per cent to N2.90. Lasaco Assurance fell by 5.56 per cent to 85 Kobo, University Press depreciated by 5.26 per cent to N1.80, Coronation Insurance went down by 5.00 per cent to 38 Kobo, and Oando dropped 2.56 per cent to N3.80.
