Chinwendu Obienyi, Lagos
Due to sustained bargain hunting in bellwethers – Nestle, GT Bank and Zenith Bank, the nation’s bourse performed positively at the close of trading, pushing market capitalization up by N69.5 billion in three consecutive sessions.
As a result, the All Share Index (ASI) advanced 16 basis points to settle at 30,821.80 points while market capitalization closed Wednesday’s session at N11.493 trillion.
Consequently, the Year-to-Date loss marginally improved to -1.9 per cent.
Activity level also improved as volume and value traded rose 88.3 and 65.0per cent to 359.09 million units and N4.82 billion respectively, exchanged in 3,319 deals.
At the sound of the closing gong, FBN Holdings was the toast of investors with 88.56 million shares valued at N659.97 million. Zenith Bank sold 55.73 million shares worth N1.27 billion while Japaul Oil traded 36.15 million shares worth N7.23 million.
Sector performance was mixed as 3 of 5 sectors advanced. The Consumer Goods index led gainers, up 1.2% following bargain hunting in Dangote Flour (+4.96 per cent). The Banking index trailed rising 0.6 per cent due to price appreciation in GUARANTY (+1.76 per cent). Similarly, the Insurance index maintained an uptrend, inching 0.5 per cent higher, on the back of gains in AIICO (+6.06 per cent).
On the flipside, the Industrial Goods and Oil & Gas indices shed 0.6 and 0.1 per cent respectively following sell pressures in Dangote Cement (-0.79 per cent) and Oando (-1.0 per cent).
Market breadth remained positive as 19 equities advanced while 17 others declined. Learn Africa topped the gainers’ chart with 9.49 per cent to close at N1.50 per share. Regal Insurance followed with 9.09 per cent to close at 0.24 kobo, MCNICHOLS rose by 7.69 per cent to close at 0.42 kobo, AIICO garnered 6.06 per cent to close at 0.70 kobo while Berger increased by 5.71 per cent to close at N7.40.
On the other hand, Custodian led the laggards with 8.82 per cent to close at N6.20 per share. Guinea Insurance was next with 8.70 per cent to close at 0.21 kobo, Chip Plc lost 6.45 per cent to close at 0.29 kobo, Livestock feeds fell by 5.66 per cent to close at 0.50 kobo while Sunu Assurance decreased by 4.76 per cent to close at 0.20 kobo.
Reacting, market analysts said that following the positive performance of the market since the start of the week, they anticipate profit taking in counters that have enjoyed buying interest till the close of the week.
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