Equities Rally N191b Gains In Opening Trades

Nigerian equities reopened yesterday on a bullish note as investors responded positively to impending release of corporate earnings and dividend recommendations by major quoted companies. The board of directors of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc met yesterday and approved the audited reports and dividend payment for the year ended December 31, 2017.

With More than three gainers to every loser, equities rallied average return of 1.22 per cent, equivalent to net capital gain of N191 billion. The sustained rally nudged the average year-to-date return to 15.85 per cent.

The All Share Index (ASI)-the value-based benchmark index that tracks share prices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) rose from its opening index of 43,773.76 points to close at 44,306.48 points. Aggregate market value of all quoted equities also rose from its opening value of N15.692 trillion to close at N15.883 trillion.

Most sectoral indices closed positive, underlining the widespread bargain-hunting that dominated transactions yesterday. The NSE Industrial Goods Index led the gainers with a gain of 1.7 per cent. The NSE Banking Index followed with a gain of 0.9 per cent.

The NSE Insurance Index rose by 0.6 per cent while the NSE Oil & Gas Index appreciated by 0.3 per cent. However, the NSE Consumer Goods Index was the only contrarian index with a drop of 0.7 per cent.

There were 46 gainers against 15 losers. Dangote Cement- NSE’s most capitalised stock, led the gainers with a gain of N7.94 to close at N268. Stanbic IBTC Holdings followed with a gain of N1 to close at N45. Forte Oil and UAC of Nigeria rose by 60 kobo each to close at N50 and N17.60. Eterna added 43 kobo to close at N5.89. FBN Holdings rose by 37 kobo to close at N14 while Lafarge Africa and Union Bank of Nigeria gathered 35 kobo each to close at N52.35 and N8.10 respectively.

Total turnover stood at 573.35 million shares valued at N5.88 billion in 6,756 deals. FCMB Group was the most active stock with a turnover of 169.12 million shares valued at N547.03 million. Access Bank followed with a turnover of 42.53 million shares worth N553.48 million while United Bank for Africa (UBA) placed third with 39.52 million shares worth N513.68 million.

On the downside, Guinness Nigeria led the losers with a loss of N2 to close at N110. Nigerian Breweries followed with a drop of N1.75 to close at N150. Dangote Sugar Refinery declined by N1.01 to close at N20.95. Flour Mills of Nigeria dropped by 52 kobo to close at N30.90 while Guaranty Trust bank slipped by 30 kobo to close at N48.70 per share.

“The market gradually recovered from the oversold region with bargain hunting by investors particularly in stocks that declined in prior sessions. Bargain hunting by investors will drive market performance in coming sessions in anticipation of 2017 earnings seasons,” FSDH Securities stated.