Dipo Olowookere
By Dipo Olowookere
It was another day in the bulls’ territory for the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited as it finished 0.58 per cent on Wednesday despite the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealing that the gross domestic product (GDP) slowed by 2.31 per cent in the first quarter of 2023.
Also today, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced that the monetary policy rate (MPR) had been raised by 50 basis points (0.50 per cent) to 18.5 per cent.
The Governor of the CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele, said the rate hike was approved at the monetary policy committee (MPC) held in Abuja.
These developments did not put the stock market under pressure as bargain-hunting dominated and lifted the bourse when trading activities closed for the day.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 306.41 points to 52,927.60 points from 52,621.19 points, and the market capitalisation grew by N166 billion to N28.819 trillion from N28.653 trillion.
Business Post reports that more trades were recorded during the session when compared with the preceding session, leading to an increase in the trading volume, value and the number of deals by 29.69 per cent, 50.00 per cent, and 11.59 per cent apiece.
This was because traders exchanged 455.2 million shares worth N7.8 billion in 6,635 deals in the midweek session compared with the 351.0 million shares worth N5.2 billion traded in 5,946 deals on Tuesday.
The mopping up of banking equities continued during the session, especially in some shares with good fundamentals as investors prepare for the end of the half-year.
Access Holdings traded 69.2 million stocks valued at N755.7 million, UBA sold 66.5 million shares worth N577.8 million, Zenith Bank exchanged 37.6 million equities valued at N1.0 billion, Fidelity Bank transacted 32.5 million shares for N182.8 million, and GTCO traded 31.0 million equities worth N848.3 million.
The market breadth was positive on Wednesday, as the bourse finished with 36 price gainers and 17 price losers, implying a strong investor sentiment buoyed by sustained buying pressure.
Nestle Nigeria gained 9.98 per cent to trade at N1,148.00, Tripple Gee jumped by 9.88 per cent to N3.56, UAC Nigeria increased by 9.76 per cent to N9.00, University Press appreciated by 9.76 per cent to N2.25, and RT Briscoe rose by 9.68 per cent to 34 Kobo.
A look at the other side of the coin showed that Chellarams declined by 9.82 per cent to N1.47, McNichols shed 9.59 per cent to 66 Kobo, Coronation Insurance depleted by 8.70 per cent to 42 Kobo, Academy Press fell by 7.14 per cent to N1.56, and Cutix crashed by 3.23 per cent to N2.40.
As for the sectorial performance, the only laggard was the insurance sector, which decreased by 0.10 per cent, as the energy, consumer goods, banking, and industrial goods sectors grew by 2.54 per cent, 2.07 per cent, 1.06 per cent, and 0.23 per cent, respectively.
