By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited rebounded by 0.62 per cent on Friday after four days in the bears’ territory as a result of sustained selling pressure.
However, an improvement in investor confidence in Nigerian stocks triggered the growth reported on the last trading session of the week.
Business Post reports that investor sentiment turned bullish yesterday after the bourse finished with 39 appreciating stocks and 26 depreciating stocks, indicating a positive market breadth index.
May & Baker was the best-performing equity after it jumped by 10.00 per cent to N7.04, Geregu Power expanded by 9.92 per cent to N675.90, Meyer rose by 9.86 per cent to N6.91, Veritas Kapital gained 9.84 per cent to sell at 67 Kobo, and Juli increased by 9.78 per cent to N1.01.
On the flip side, Eterna ended as the worst-performing stock after it lost 9.80 per cent to trade at N17.95, Industrial and Medical Gases declined by 9.38 per cent to N13.05, DAAR Communications retreated by 9.21 per cent to 69 Kobo, Neimeth went down by 9.09 per cent to N1.80, and Unity Bank depreciated by 8.33 per cent to N2.31.
During the session, investors traded 321.9 million shares worth N7.4 billion in 8,925 deals compared with the 478.4 million shares worth N7.2 billion traded in 10,957 deals on Thursday, representing a rise in the value of transactions by 2.78 per cent, a decline in the volume of transactions and the number of deals by 32.71 per cent and 18.55 per cent, respectively.
Transcorp ended the day as the most traded stock with a turnover of 33.3 million units valued at N439.0 million, Universal Insurance transacted 21.3 million units worth N7.8 million, Ecobank exchanged 18.8 million units valued at N486.0 million, UBA traded 17.6 million units valued at N448.5 million, and Access Holdings sold 16.2 million units for N408.1 million.
It was observed that the five major sectors of the NGX closed in the green territory of Friday, with the insurance space rising by 2.69 per cent.
The banking index appreciated by 1.34 per cent, the consumer goods counter improved by 0.72 per cent, the energy sector jumped by 0.09 per cent, and the industrial goods sector increased by 0.02 per cent.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 690.95 points to 101,858.37 points from 101,227.42 points, and the market capitalisation advanced by N345 billion to N55.735 trillion from N55.390 trillion.
Adedapo Adesanya