Stock market closes week positive, gains N50bn

The Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX) ended trading on a positive note Friday, as market capitalisation gained N50 billion or 0.19 per cent to close at N25.791 trillion from N25.741 trillion posted the previous day.

The NGX All-Share Index (ASI) also gained 90.54 basis points or 0.19 per cent to close at 47, 351.43 from N47, 260.89 on Thursday.

The gain was driven by price appreciation in large and medium stocks.

Financial analysts at Vetiva Securities said the month started off weak, with price dip in heavyweights dragging the market.

“We expect another series of mixed trading activities next week as investors look to the attractive counters across board,” said the analysts.

However, market sentiment, as measured by market breadth, was negative, as 13 stocks gained relative to 14 gainers.

FTN Cocos recorded the highest price gain of 7.14 per cent to close at 30k per share.

International Breweries followed with a gain 5.56 per cent to close at N4.75 while Sovereign Trust Insurance appreciated by four per cent to close at 26k, per share.

United Bank for Africa (UBA) went up by 3.05 per cent to close at N6.75 per share.

On the other hand, Academy Press led the losers’ chart by 9.78 per cent to close at N3.69, National Salt Company followed with a decline of 9.52 per cent to close at N9.50 and Academy Press shed 9.37 per cent to close at N1.45, per share.

WAPIC Insurance lost 8.57 per cent to close at 32k, while UPDCredit shed 8.20 per cent to close at N2.80, per share.

The total volume of trades declined by 32 per cent to 137.28 million units, valued at N1.71 billion and exchanged in 3,845 deals.

Transactions in the shares of Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) topped the activity chart with 33.79 million shares valued at N 573.8 million.

Oando followed with 18.45 million shares worth N83.65 million, while Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Transcorp traded 13.52 million shares valued at N14.08 million.

Zenith Bank traded 7.43 million shares valued at N144.58 million, while Chams transacted 6.99 million shares worth N1.83 million.