BUA Cement Drives Stock Market Up By N116.05bn

Following the Eid-ul-Mawlid holiday, trading resumed yesterday, and the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) stock market saw a market capitalization increase of N116.05 billion, mostly due to a surge in BUA Cement Plc.

The market capitalization increased to N25.908 trillion, increasing investor value by N116.05 billion. The All Share Index (ASI) increased by 214.49 basis points, or 0.45%, to end at 47,55.92 basis points.

Gains in medium- and large-capitalized firms, including BUA Cement, Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX Group), May & Baker Nigeria, United Bank for Africa (UBA), and United Capital, had an influence on the recovery.

The market mood was down as indicated by market breadth, with 15 equities declining compared to 12 advancings. The biggest price increase was seen by May & Baker Nigeria, up 9.76% to settle at N4.05 per share. Ikeja Hotel came in second, rising 9.73% to end at N1.24, while BUA Cement increased 8.65% to settle at N56.50 a share.

Unity Bank increased by 7.32 per cent to settle at 44 kobo per share, while Cornerstone Insurance increased by 8.00 percent to conclude at 54 kobo. University Press, on the other hand, topped the losers’ table by 8.54 per cent and closed at N1.50 per share. Following with a loss of 6.94% to close at N11.40, while FTN Cocoa processors went down by 6.67 to close at 28 kobo, per share.

Caverton Offshore Support Group lost 5.94 per cent to close at 95 kobo, while Cutix shed 4.63 per cent to close at N2.06, per share. The total volume of trades declined by 8.5 per cent to 125.65 million units, valued at N1.90 billion, and exchanged in 4,188 deals.

Transactions in the shares of Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) topped the activity chart with 38.865 million shares valued at N659.095 million. FBN Holdings (FBNH) followed with 22.827 million shares worth N216.872 million, while Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) traded 9.608 million shares valued at N10.075 million.

NGX Group traded 6.275 million shares valued at N134.527 million, while Chams transacted 5.307 million shares worth N1.448 million.

This week, United Capital Plc expected continued bearish sentiment to dominate the market, given the high-yield environment. However, investors will continue to hunt growth stocks.