By Dipo Olowookere
After two days in the dungeon, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited closed higher by 0.23 per cent on Friday, thanks to bargain-hunting in Oando, UAC Nigeria and others.
On the last trading session of the week, a total of 39 equities ended on the gainers’ chart and 18 equities finished on the losers’ table, representing a positive market breadth and strong investor sentiment.
Oando and UAC Nigeria appreciated by 10.00 per cent to settle at N81.40 and N20.90, respectively, Berger Paints gained 9.97 per cent to sell for N18.75, SFS REIT increased by 9.97 per cent to N148.35, and RT Briscoe jumped by 9.83 per cent to N2.57.
On the flip side, Deap Capital shed 9.62 per cent to trade at 94 Kobo, PZ Cussons went down by 9.52 per cent to N19.00, Eterna declined by 6.25 per cent to N30.00, Consolidated Hallmark fell by 5.59 per cent to N1.35, and AIICO Insurance depleted by 4.35 per cent to N1.10.
During the session, the banking index appreciated by 0.56 per cent and the consumer goods counter gained 0.11 per cent, while the insurance, energy and industrial goods sectors depreciated by 0.94 per cent, 0.20 per cent, and 0.17 per cent, respectively.
When trading activities finished for the day, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 223.33 points to 96,433.53 points from 96,210.20 points and the market capitalisation advanced by N128 billion to N55.394 trillion from N55.266 trillion.
Investors bought and sold 392 million stocks worth N12.0 million in 7,981 deals versus the 388.6 million stocks worth N9.6 billion traded in 9,897 deals on Thursday, indicating a decline in the number of deals by 19.36 per cent and an increase in the trading volume and value by 1.00 per cent and 25.00 per cent, respectively.
Jaiz Bank ended the day as the busiest equity with 54.4 million units valued at N124.6 million, Zenith Bank traded 34.6 million units worth N1.3 billion, Notore Industries exchanged 34.3 million units for N2.2 billion, Transcorp traded 21.8 million units worth N240.3 million, and UBA transacted 20.6 million units valued at N478.4 million.