By Dipo Olowookere
Those who trade Nigerian stocks gained N22 billion on Monday despite the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited witnessing low trades.
The market appreciated by 0.10 per cent on the first trading session of the new week on the back of bargain hunting by investors, who cherry-picked equities that could yield gains in the coming days, weeks and months.
As a result of the buying interest, 21 shares ended on the gainers’ chart while 11 shares finished on the losers’ table, indicating a positive market breadth and investor sentiment.
Neimeth recorded the biggest price appreciation with 9.82 per cent to sell for N1.79, UPDC gained 9.43 per cent to trade at N1.16, Royal Exchange appreciated by 8.70 per cent to quote at 75 kobo, Mutual Benefits improved by 7.69 per cent to 28 kobo, while Regency Assurance went up by 7.32 per cent to 44 kobo.
On the flip side, C&I Leasing lost 8.70 per cent to close at N4.20, Consolidated Hallmark Insurance fell by 6.90 per cent to 54 kobo, Coronation Insurance dropped 5.88 per cent to 48 kobo, Lasaco Assurance lost 5.45 per cent to sell for N1.04, while NAHCO depreciated by 3.48 per cent to N3.33.
During the session, the trading volume declined by 58.39 per cent to 142.2 million shares from 341.7 million shares, the trading value decreased by 29.68 per cent to N2.5 billion from N3.5 billion, while the number of deals jumped by 22.56 per cent to 3,749 deals from 3,059 deals.
FBN Holdings was the most traded stock on Monday with the sale of 20.2 million units for N244.7 million, followed by GTCO with 10.6 million units valued at N270.9 million.
Sovereign Trust Insurance traded 10.1 million equities for N2.4 million, Mutual Benefits transacted 9.4 million shares for N2.6 million, while AIICO Insurance exchanged 8.8 million stocks worth N6.0 million.
Business Post reports that three of the five major sectors of the exchange closed bullish yesterday, with the industrial goods, banking and consumer goods appreciating by 0.31 per cent, 0.29 per cent and 0.03 per cent respectively, while the insurance and energy counters lost 0.48 per cent and 0.41 per cent apiece.
When the market closed for the day at 2:30 pm yesterday, the market capitalisation expanded by N22 billion to N22.129 trillion from N22.107 trillion, while the All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 41.40 points to settle at 42,394.71 points in contrast to the preceding session’s 42,353.31 points.
