NSE Index Gains 0.56% as Bargain Hunters Pounce on Weak Shares

By Dipo Olowookere

Activities of bargain hunters lifted the local bourse on Tuesday from the negative territory it plunged into at the close of Monday’s session.

The Nigerian stock market had opened the week with a 0.39 percent loss yesterday, but when the market wrapped up transactions on Tuesday, it was green, appreciating by 0.56 percent and reducing the year-to-date loss to 15.33 percent.

This was mainly due to the positive performance of Nestle Nigeria and 26 other equities at the market yesterday.

Nestle Nigeria gained N30.50k on Tuesday to lead the price risers table, closing for the day at N1380.50k per share.

It was followed by Forte Oil, which appreciated by N1 to settle at N20 per share, and FBN Holdings, which grew by 55 kobo to end at N8.75k per share.

UBA garnered 50 kobo to finish at N7.70k per share, while Zenith Bank also advanced by 50 kobo to settle at N20.75k per share.

However, it was a bad day for Nigerian Breweries and 17 other counters. The stock lost N2 of its share value to lead the losers’ log, closing at N90 per share.

NASCON reduced by 65 kobo to end at N18.60k per share, while Red Star Express went down by 45 kobo to settle at N4.50k per share.

GTBank depreciated by 25 kobo to finish at N33.70k per share, while C&I Leading crashed by 15 kobo to close at N3 per share.

A look at the market activity showed that the volume and value of equities transacted on Tuesday increased by 67.94 percent and 23.32 percent respectively.

A total of 269.8 million shares worth N2.7 billion exchanged hands yesterday compared with the 160.7 million valued at N2.2 billion traded the previous session.

A breakdown indicated that financial stocks accounted for 222.9 million units sold for N1.6 billion, while Consumer Goods equities accounted for 16.5 million units valued at N727 million.

A further breakdown revealed that Access Bank shares got the curiosity of investors at the market on Tuesday, trading 85 million units worth N679.8 million.

It was followed by Skye Bank, which transacted 22.9 million shares for N14.7 million, and Zenith Bank, which traded 16.4 units valued at N338.4 million.

Sterling Bank exchanged 11.7 million shares for N16.9 million, while International Breweries sold 10.3 million equities valued at N299.7 million.

A quick look at the major market indices showed that the All-Share Index (ASI) increased on Tuesday by 179.02 points to settle at 32,381.00 points, while the market capitalisation went up by N66 billion to finish at N11.822 trillion.