In the wake of advances in numerous blue-chip firms, particularly Seplat and Airtel Africa, yesterday’s closing of the Nigerian equities market saw a halt to losses, with investors’ wealth reaching N980 billion.
The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 1,790.58 points at the end of trading yesterday, or 1.76 percent, to settle at 103,498.28 points. Additionally, market capitalization increased to N56.633 trillion at the closing, up N980 billion.
Large and medium-cap equities, such as Seplat Energy, Airtel Africa, Geregu Power, BUA Foods, and FBN Holdings (FBNH), had price increases that propelled the upswing.
The market was in a good mood as seen by the market breadth, with 28 equities rising compared to 25 falling. With 10 percent gains apiece to conclude at N2200 and N2.42 kobo, Airtel Africa and Unity Bank headed the gainers’ table. Juli Pharmaceutical came in second with a 9.91 percent gain to settle at N1.22 kobo. With a 9.9% gain, FBNHoldings closed at N27.20 kobo.
Morrison Industry closed at N3.02 kobo, up 9.82% from the previous closing. Seplat closed at N3,370 after appreciating by 9.61 percent. PZ Cussons finished at N27.50 kobo with 9.56% of the vote. May & Baker closed at N6.90 kobo after appreciating by 8.66 percent. BUA Foods closed at N320, up 7.02 percent.
To close at 46 kobo, Regency Insurance added 6.98 percent. Geregu closed at N770 after appreciating by 6.72% as well. Conversely, Meyer Paint saw a 9.99 percent decline to close at N6.22 kobo, while NCR and Mecure, Thomas Way saw the worst losses, falling by 10% each to close at N4.32 kobo, N9.72 kobo, and 2.25 kobo, respectively. BUACement closed at N150, down 9.91 percent.
With a 9.65% decrease, Fidelity Bank closed at N10.30 kobo. Guinea Insurance closed at 49 kobo after losing 9.26% of its value. Veritas Kapital closed at 73 Kobo after losing 8.75% of its value. Deap Capital closed at 60 kobo after depreciating by 7.69%. Closed at N1.65 kobo, UPDC lost 6.78 percent of its value.
In addition, Nigerian Aviation Handling Company saw a 6.67% decrease, closing at N2.53 kobo. Additionally, investors traded 426.861 million shares valued at N12.106 billion in 8654 deals compared to 263.192 million shares valued at N4.30 billion in 8614 deals, increasing the volume of transactions by 163.669 million, or 62.19 percent.
With 54.611 million shares valued at N1.478 billion, FBN Holdings topped market activity. United Bank for Africa came in second with an account of 47.658 million shares valued at N1.172 billion. Transnational Corporation of Nigeria swapped 30.645 million shares worth N394.902 million, Nigerian Breweries traded 25.487 million shares worth N968.657 million, and AccessCorp traded 46.045 million shares valued at N1.091 billion.
