Tier-1 banks lift equity market by N149bn

Gains in Tier-one banking stocks, on Thursday, sustained the upward trajectory of the Nigerian stock market, leading to a profit of N149 billion for investors.

Gains in Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), Zenith Bank, FBN Holdings (FBNH), United Bank For Africa (UBA), Access Corporation, among other advanced equities, pulled the market up.

Consequently, the Nigerian Exchange Ltd.(NGX) market capitalisation gained N149 billion or 0.25 per cent from an opening of N59.955 trillion, to close at N60.104 trillion.

The All-Share-Index also advanced by 0.25 per cent or 246 points, to settle at 99,189.95, as against 98,944.42 recorded on Wednesday.

As a result, the Year-To-Date (YTD) return rose to 32.65 per cent.

The market breadth also closed positively with 28 gainers and 19 losers.

On the gainers’ chart, Access Corporation led by N2 to close at N22.10, Academy Press followed by 28k to close at N3.14, Cornerstone gained 19k to close at N2.69 while UPDC gained 13k to close at N1.59 per share.

Veritas Kapital Assurance appreciated by 9k to close at N1.60 per share.

On the losers’ chart, Royal Exchange lost 7k to close at 65k, International Breweries trailed by 27k to close at N4.06 per share.

Livestock Feed Plc declined by 20k to close at N3.10, Wapic dropped 6k to close at 95k, while Champion shed 20k to close at N3.50 per share.

Analysis of the market activities showed trade turnover settled higher, relative to the previous session, with the value of transactions up by 89.56 per cent.

A total of 400.91 million shares, valued at N15.72 billion, were exchanged in 9,211 deals, compared to 283.73 million shares valued at N8.29 billion traded in 7,961 deals posted in the previous session.

UBA led the activity chart in volume with 58.42 million shares, while Aradel led the chart in the value of deals worth N4.24 billion.