Market sustains rally, gains N46 billion

Bullish sentiments persisted in the equities sector of the Nigerian capital market, yesterday, as almost all the blue-chip companies recorded price appreciation, lifting market capitalisation by N46 billion.

The all-share index (ASI) rose by 85.15 points, representing an increase of 0.2 per cent, to close at 48,223.86 points while the overall market capitalisation value gained N46 billion to close at N25.998 trillion.

The upturn was impacted by gains recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are Berger Paints, PZ Cussons Nigeria, Skyway Aviation Handling Company, Eterna and Oando.

On market outlook, GTI Securities Limited said: “The equity market maintained its bullish trend with the Oil & Gas sector dominating activities. We expect this positive trend to persist in the coming trading days.”

On the price movement chart, 28 stocks appreciated while nine others constituted the losers’ chart. Berger Paints and Eterna recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent each to close at N7.70 kobo and N6.05 kobo, while Oando followed with a gain of 9.9 per cent to close at N5.33 kobo.

Meyer Plc rose by 9.84 per cent to close at N2.12 kobo while Skyway Aviation Handling Company appreciated by 9.83 per cent to close at N6.37 kobo. First City Monument Bank gained 9.76 per cent to close at N3.60 kobo. FTN Cocoa added 9.68 kobo to close at 34 kobo. Cornerstone Insurance garnered 8.93 per cent to close at 61 kobo. PZ Cussons added 7.45 per cent to close at N10.10 kobo while Courtville appreciated by six per cent to close at 53 kobo.

On the other hand, Scoa Nigeria led the losers’ chart by 9.77 per cent to close at N1.94 kobo. Associated Bus Company followed with a decline of 6.45 per cent to close at 29 kobo while Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals depreciated by 3.55 per cent to close at N1.36 kobo.

May & Baker Nigeria declined by 2.95 per cent to close at N4.27 while AIICO Insurance depreciated by 1.45 per cent to close at 68 kobo.

Meanwhile, the total volume traded decreased by 30 per cent to 244.7 million units, valued at N3.2 billion, and exchanged in 4,859 deals. Transactions in the shares of Custodian Investment topped the activity chart with 38.7 million shares valued at N255.5 million. Oando followed with 19.5 million shares worth N101.3 million, while Fidelity Bank traded 17.3 million shares valued at N66.861 billion.

Nigerian Breweries traded 15.3 million shares valued at N733 million while Transnational Corporation Plc transacted 13.9 million shares worth N14 million.