The reign of the bulls continued unabated on the equities sector of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), as investors’ increased appetite in the consumer and industrial goods lifted capitalization further by N2 billion.
Specifically, the All Share Index (ASI) rose by 3.18 points, representing an increase of 0.01 per cent to close at 48,571.75 points while the overall market capitalization value gained N2 billion to close at N26.186 trillion.
The upturn was impacted by gains recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are; Presco, Guinness Nigeria, Vitafoam Nigeria, Cadbury Nigeria and BUA Cement.
Reacting on market performance, analysts at GTI Securities Limited said: “The market closed positive, as investors increased buying interest in the Consumer goods and Industrial sectors extends market bullish run to six successive trading days. We expect positive sentiments to persist, as investors take positions, as companies’ Q1, 2022 financial result rolls out.”
Vetiva Dealings and Brokerage said: “As seen in today’s market breadth, the positive sentiment has started to wane as investors take profit from previous gainers especially in the banking sector. We are likely to see similar trading pattern tomorrow given the market’s recent rally.”
However, market sentiment, as measured by market breadth closed negative as 23 stocks declined, relative to 18 gainers. Academy Press recorded the highest price gain of 9.92 per cent to close at N1.33 kobo. Wema Bank followed with a gain 9.88 per cent to close at N3.67 kobo while Cadury Nigeria appreciated by 9.68 per cent to close at N8.50 kobo.
UACN Property Development Company (UPDC) rose by 9.09 per cent to close at 96 kobo, while Presco increased by 8.98 per cent to close at N143.85 kobo. Guinness garnered 7.54 per cent to close at N88.45 kobo. Caverton appreciated by 5.26 kobo to close at N1.20 kobo.
Vitafoam garnered 4.50 per cent to close at N23.20 kobo. Cutix increased by 4.35 kobo to close at N2.40 kobo. Neimeth Pharmaceutical also gained 4.03 per cent to close at N1.55 kobo.
On the other hand, Ikeja Hotel led the losers’ chart by 9.68 per cent to close at N1.40, per share. Livestock Feeds followed with a decline of 9.50 per cent to close at N1.62, while Consolidated Hallmark Insurance depreciated by 9.38 per cent to close at 58 kobo.
Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) declined by 6.25 per cent to close at N6.00, while Cornerstone Insurance depreciated by 6.06 per cent to close at 62 kobo.
However, the total volume of trades decreased by 46.92 per cent to 246.7 million units, valued at N2.3 billion, and exchanged in 5,033 deals. Transactions in the shares of Multiverse Mining and Exploration topped the activity chart with 36.2 million shares valued at N7.3 million. Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) followed with 26.1 million shares worth N29.9 million, while Lafarge Africa traded 14.5 million shares valued at N392.7 million.
Fidelity Bank traded 12.6 million shares valued at N46.7 million, while Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) transacted 12.3 million shares worth N294.3 million.
GUARDIAN
