On the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) trading floor yesterday, there was good
news as the index broke the 80,000 mark and closed at 80, 328.58 points.
From 79, 664.66 last week, the index increased by 663.92 points, or 0.8%, to conclude at
80,328.59. Additionally, from N43.594 trillion last Friday to N43.957 trillion today, the market
capitalization of listed stocks increased by N363 billion. As a result, the year-to-date (YTD)
return is 7.43%.
The increase in value of major and medium-sized equities, such as Presco, Conoil,
Okomuoil, Julius Berger, Lafarge WAPCO, GTCO, NAHCO, Ecobank TransNational
Incorporated, and Transnational Corporation (Transcorp), was the main driver of yesterday’s
rally.
United Capital Plc responded to the performance by saying, “We expect the Bulls to prevail
in January 2024 as bargain hunting continues.” We anticipate the local bourse to register a
good performance this coming week given the global developments across key central
banks in advanced economies, high base expectations for inflation, and enhanced chances
for economic growth.”
“Selecting firms with solid fundamentals—growth or value—may still be a practice among
investors. Value stocks, however, might be a better option for dividend-seeking investors in
advance of the full-year 2023 earnings season. We anticipate slight, though negligible, sell-
offs at various periods.”
Market mood was bullish as indicated by market breadth, with 54 equities rising compared to
18 falling. The top price gainers, with 10% gains apiece, were Cornerstone Insurance, Cutix,
Julius Berger, Lasaco Assurance, Omatek Ventures, and Jaiz Bank, which closed at N1.87,
N2.75, N46.75, N2.42, N99, and N2.53 respectively.
Wema Bank trailed behind with a 9.89% gain, closing at N8.11 kobo, and BUA Foods gained
9.29% to settle at N152.90 kobo.
AXA Mansard Insurance saw a 6.85% increase to close at N3.90 kobo, while Royal
Exchange and Sterling Financial Holdings Company saw 9.88% increases apiece to
conclude at N6.34 and 89 kobo.
However, DAAR Communications, which closed at N1.17 kobo with a 9.30% loss, led the
other companies on the losers’ chart. After that, Eterna saw a 9.30% drop to close at N15.05
kobo and CWG saw a 7.05% loss to close at N8.30 kobo.
PZ Cussons Nigeria ended the day at N27, down 6.90%. Fidelity Bank closed at N13.35
kobo after depreciating by 5.99%.
With 16,081 deals, 1.19 billion units worth N15.26 billion were exchanged, a 33.3% increase
in total volume transacted.
Transcorp transactions accounted for the majority of the activity, with 298.303 million shares
valued at N4.078 billion.
Fidelity Bank traded 87.654 million shares valued at N1.189 billion, while FCMB Group came
in second with 106.053 million shares worth N1.084 billion.
While Unity Bank exchanged 32.566 million shares worth N82.329 million, Sterling Financial
Holdings Company traded 62.547 million shares worth N395.09 million.
