The Nigerian Exchange, NGX, equities section soared as investors increased their holdings of Geregu Power Plc, FBNH, UBA, and Zenith Bank, among others.
As a result, the stock market’s year-to-date gain increased to 2.93% as investor demand for utilities and banking equities remained strong. Overall, the equities market capitalisation increased by N14 billion or 0.06 percent to N23.948 trillion, up from N23.934 trillion the previous day.
In addition, the All-Share Index (ASI) rose 25.93 points, or 0.06 percent, to close at 43,968.75 points, up from 43,942.82 points on Thursday. Zenith Bank, First Bank of Nigeria Holdings (FBNH), and Geregu Power were the primary drivers of the market’s performance. Market breadth finished positive, with 13 stocks advancing and six laggards. Cornerstone Insurance led the gainers’ table, rising 10% to close at $44,000 per share.
Unity Bank followed with a growth of 9.62 per cent to close at 57k, while E-Tranzact International added by 9.37 per cent to close at N3.50, per share. WAPIC insurance rose by 9.09 per cent to close at 36k, while Regency Alliance Insurance appreciated by eight per cent to close at 27k, per share.
Flour Mills, on the other side, led the losers’ column, falling 9.9 percent to settle at N27.30 per share. PZ lagged with a 7.03 percent fall to settle at N8.60, while Ecobank Transnational Incorporated was flat (ETI)
Ikeja Hotel was down by 1.06 per cent to close at 93k, while Seplat dipped by 8.62 per cent to close at N8.02 per share. READ: NGX Records Large Gain as Investors Hunt for Value
Analysis of today’s market activities showed trade turnover settled lower relative to the previous session, with the value of transactions down by 30.05 per cent. A total of 209.71 million shares valued at N2.17 billion were exchanged in 2,942 deals.
Performance across sub-indices was varied, as the NGX Banking and NGX Consumer Goods indices fell by 0.19% and 0.51%, respectively. Meanwhile, the NGX Oil/Gas Index and the NGX Industrial Index remained unchanged.
The NGX Insurance index climbed by 2.02% on buy interest in CORNERST (+10.00%), WAPIC (+9.09%), PRESTIGE (+2.63%), and AIICO (+1.82%).
In terms of volume, ACCESSCORP was the most active stock, with 81.34 million shares worth N654.72 million changing hands in 121 deals. # NGX Rises as Investors Hunt for Upside in Geregu, FBNH, UBA
