Nigerian stocks rebound on increased interest in Ecobank shares

Nigerian stocks rose for the first time this week on Wednesday as the benchmark index climbed by 0.13 per cent even though the size of gain was not enough to offset the cumulative depreciation recorded Monday through Tuesday.

Unusual demand for shares in Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) stoked the recovery a day after the pan-African banking issued its audited financials for last year, showing net profit surged by more than a triple.

Helping gains, MTN Nigeria recorded moderate appreciation just as the NGX Oil and Gas Index advanced 0.27 per cent, the best movement of the five sector indexes tracked by the bourse.

Market breadth, which measures the level of investor sentiment towards trade, was neutral as 17 gainers emerged compared to 17 losers.

The all-share index expanded 61.4 points to 46,904.5, while market capitalisation closed at N25.3 trillion.
Year to date, the index is up 9.8 per cent.

TOP FIVE GAINERS

Wema Bank led the gainers’ chart, appreciating by 200 per cent to close at N2.76, following adjustment of its share price after a share reconstruction exercise. Ikeja Hotel went up by 10 per cent to N1.32. Cornerstone Insurance rose to N0.66, notching up 10 per cent in the process. Eterna added 9.82 per cent to end trade at N5.48. Meyer completed the top 5, climbing by 9.09 per cent to N0.60.

TOP FIVE LOSERS

Cadbury was the worst performing stock, declining by 6.67 per cent to close at N8.40. Japaul Gold shed 5.88 per cent to close at N0.32. PZ fell to N10.60, losing 5.36 per cent. Royal Exchange dipped to N1.08, recording 5.22 per cent depreciation. Multiverse closed at N0.23, going down by 4.17 per cent.

TOP FIVE TRADES

In all, 201.3 million shares estimated at N2.6 billion were traded in 4,017 deals.

ETI was the most active stock with 61.9 million units of its shares worth N742 million traded in 109 deals. Access Holdings shares of 29.5 million units, priced at N294.9 million, exchanged hands in 415 transactions. Zenith Bank had 15.8 million shares valued at N361.8 million traded in 482 deals. Fidelity Bank traded 11.4 million shares estimated at N35.6 million in 116 transactions. Transcorp traded 9.8 million shares valued at N9.8 million in 103 deals.