Gains in petroleum stocks lift NGX capitalisation by N20 billion

The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) reopened in an upbeat mood yesterday, as market capitalisation advanced by N20 billion, following gains recorded by many blue-chip stocks, especially Conoil and MRS.

At the close of trading, yesterday, the All Share Index (ASI) rose by 37.37 absolute points, representing a gain of 0.07 per cent to close at 54,364.67 points. Accordingly, investors gained N20 billion in value as market capitalisation went up to N29.611 trillion.

The upturn was impacted by gains recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are; Conoil, MRS Oil Nigeria, Vitafoam Nigeria, Lafarge Africa and Zenith Bank.

Vetiva Dealings and Brokerage analysts said: “Asides from the positive activity in the banking sector, the top four trades by volume were all Tier-I banks, as investors continue to favour counters in that space. We expect this trade pattern to filter into tomorrow’s trading session.”

Market breadth closed positive as 18 stocks posted gains while eight declined. Conoil recorded the highest price gain of 9.98 per cent to close at N35.25, per share.

MRS Oil Nigeria followed with a gain of 9.24 per cent to close at N23. Chams Holding Company went up by eight per cent to close at 27 kobo. GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria went up by 6.25 per cent to close at N6.80 kobo.

Champion Breweries appreciated by 6.22 per cent to close at N4.78 kobo. Vitafoam gained 6.09 per cent to close at N20.90 kobo. International Energy appreciated by 4.03 per cent to close at N1.29 kobo.

Cornerstone Insurance garnered 3.39 per cent to close at 61 kobo. CHI Plc improved by 3.17 per cent to close at 65 kobo. Lafarge WAPCO increased by 2.35 per cent to close at N26.10 kobo.

On the other hand, Computer Warehouse Group (CWG), led the losers’ chart by 9.18 per cent to close at 89 kobo, per share. Fidelity Bank followed with a decline of 2.87 per cent to close at N5.42, while Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) went down by 2.38 to close at N8.20 kobo.

FBN Holdings (FBNH) lost 1.69 per cent to close at N11.65, while Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) shed 0.75 per cent to close at N6.65 kobo. Eterna depreciated by 71 per cent to close at N6.95 kobo. Oando fell by 51 kobo to close at N3.88 kobo. GTCO also shed 20 kobo to close at N25.15 kobo.

The total volume traded fell by 19.8 per cent to 140.841 million shares, worth N3.159 billion, and traded in 3,553 deals. Transactions in the shares of United Bank for Africa (UBA) topped the activity chart with 28.624 million shares valued at N239.736 million. Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) followed with 22.878 million shares worth N575.257 million, while Access Holdings traded 14.743 million shares valued at N134.235 million.

Zenith Bank traded 12.598 million shares valued at N319.219 million, while Chams Holding Company transacted 5.451 million shares worth N1.456 million.