Investors renewed interest in some medium and large capitalised stocks lifted the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) market capitalisation by N19billion as the market sustained bullish activity.
The overall market capitalisation value gained by N19bllion to close at N25.632trillion, while the NGX All Share Index (ASI) rose by 35.48 basis points or 0.07 per cent to close at 47,545.86 basis points.
The upturn was impacted by gains recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are; Guinness Nigeria, Stanbic IBTC Holdings, Unilever Nigeria, Cadbury Nigeria and FBN Holdings (FBNH).
As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was negative as 31 stocks lost relative to 21 gainers. Meyer Plc recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent to close at N1.76, per share. Guinness Nigeria followed with a gain of 6.86 per cent to close at N74.80, while NPF Microfinance Bank rose by 6.80 per cent to close at N2.20, per share.
Cadbury Nigeria went up by five per cent to close at N8.40, while Unilever Nigeria appreciated by 4.51 per cent to close at N12.75, per share. On the other hand, Academy Press led the losers’ chart by 9.72 per cent to close at N1.30, per share. John Holt followed with a decline of 9.30 per cent to close at 78 kobo, while Japaul Gold and Ventures depreciated by 9.09 per cent to close at 30 kobo, per share.
Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals declined by 8.23 per cent to close at N1.45, while Pharma Deko Plc depreciated by 7.51 per cent to close at N1.60, per share.
The total volume traded declined by 5.1 per cent to 365.454 million units, valued at N7.106 billion, and exchanged in 5,790 deals. Transactions in the shares of Fidelity Bank topped the activity chart with 33.758 million shares valued at N132.131 million. Access Holdings followed with 23.960 million shares worth N247.074 million, while MTN Nigeria Communications (MTNN) traded 22.152 million shares valued at N4.719 billion.
Omatek Ventures traded 17.899 million shares valued at N3.580 million, while R.T. Briscoe Nigeria transacted 15.074 million shares worth N8.892 million.
Commenting on yesterday’s market performance, analysts at InvestmentOne research in a report said, “The equities market closed northwards today due to the gain recorded in the Consumer Goods sector.
“Going forward, we expect investor’s sentiments to be swayed by the search for real positive returns and developments in the interest rate space. We reiterate that this may be a great period to pick up some quality names with a medium to long-term investment horizon.”
Thisday