Bargain hunting: NSE index appreciates further by 0.79%

Bargain hunting persisted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Wednesday with the All-Share Index appreciating further by 0.79 per cent.

Our correspondent reports that the index grew by 244.43 points or 0.79 per cent to close at 31,251.68 compared with 31,007.25 achieved on Tuesday.

Also, the market capitalisation inched N52 billion to close at N11.372 trillion against N11.320 trillion recorded on Tuesday.

The upturn was impacted by gains recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks with Dangote Cement leading the gainers’ pack with N5 to close at N190 per share.

It was followed by Stanbic IBTC with 95k to close at N47.50, while Flour Mills rose by 65k to close at N21 per share.

PZ Cussons increased by 60k to close at N10.90, while Oando garnered 25k to close at N4.95 per share.

Analysts at InvestData Ltd., said: “The rebound in the market was in line with our expectation; although, we expect this to be short-lived, as sell pressures persist.”

They said that the market would continue to experience mixed performance until after the 2019 general elections.

On the other hand, Seplat recorded the highest loss, dropping by N15.10 to close at N598.90 per share.

Cement Company of Northern Nigeria trailed with a loss of N1.75 to close at N16. 25, while International Breweries shed N1.30 to close at N29.45 per share.

Guaranty Trust Bank was down by 65k to close at N35.30, UACN declined by 50k to close at N9.50 per share.

Our correspondent reports that a total of 198.64 million shares valued at N2.31 billion was exchanged by investors in 2,845 deals.

This was in contrast with a total of 198.54 million shares worth N2.12 billion transacted in 2,802 deals on Tuesday.

FBN Holdings was the most active stock, exchanging 90.36 million shares worth N689.82 million.

Access Bank followed with an account of 17.95 million shares valued at N134.56 million, while Diamond Bank traded 15.09 million shares worth N12.82 million.

FCMB Group exchanged 12.02 million shares valued at N18.47 million, while Guaranty Trust Bank accounted for 7.59 million shares worth N268.05 million.