Renewed buying interest in Dangote Cement and 15 other stocks drove the positive performance of the Nigerian equities market, yesterday. As a result, the benchmark index gained 309.18 absolute points, representing a growth of 0.95 per cent to close at 32,722.18 points. Similarly, market capitalisation rose by N113 billion to close at N11.946 trillion. The upturn was significantly impacted by gains recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are; Dangote Cement, Nigerian Breweries, Unilever Nigeria, Guinness Nigeria and Zenith Bank. Commenting, analysts at Afrinvest Limited stated that “we anticipate sustained bargain hunting in bellwethers till midwaeek as investors take advantage of cheap entry prices.” However, market breadth was negative, with 16 gainers versus 23 losers. UACN Property Development Company recorded the highest price gain of 9.94 per cent, to close at N1.77 per share. Cutix followed with a gain of 9.73 per cent to close at N2.03, while Unilever Nigeria gained by 5.58 per cent to close at N43.50 per share.
FBN Holdings went up by 3.35 per cent to close at N9.25, while Cadbury Nigeria appreciated by 3.16 per cent to close at N9.80 per share. On the other hand, Beta Glass led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent, to close at N70.20, while Julius Berger followed with a loss of 9.83 per cent to close at N21.55, per share. Niger Insurance shed 9.09 per cent to close at 30 kobo, while Japaul Oil & Maritime Services and Universal Insurance declined by 8.70 per cent, each to close at 21 kobo, each per share. The total volume traded appreciated by 624.27 per cent to 662.02 million shares, worth N5.31 billion, and traded in 3,025 deals.
Transactions in the shares of Sunu Assurance topped the activity chart with 500.12 million shares worth N100.02 million. Guaranty Trust Bank followed with account of 41.83 million shares valued at N1.53 billion, while Fidelity Bank traded 20.28 million shares cost N38.67 million. Zenith Bank traded 17.27 million shares valued at N389.06 million, while FCMB Groups sold 11.87 million shares worth N18.77 million.
