The equities market reversed previous losses to close in an upbeat at the end of yesterday’s transactions, following price gains by most bluechip companies, especially Chams and Dangote Fourmills, causing market capitalisation to appreciate marginally by N94 billion.
At the end of trading, the All-Share Index (ASI), which measures the performance of listed companies, gained 250.33 absolute points, representing a growth of 0.85 per cent to close at 29,746.24 points.
Similarly, the market capitalisation of listed equities gained N94 billion, to close at N11.173 trillion.
The improved performance was occasioned by gains recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, among which were Nestle Nigeria, Dangote Flour mills, Guaranty Trust Bank, Zenith Bank and Africa prudential.
Analysts at Afrinvest Limited said: “Due to the positive sentiment in the equities market, we expect more sideways trading sessions and advise investors to continue guardedly hunting for bargains.”
Also, analysts at APT Securities and Funds Limited, said: “In the absence of major information to trigger any move in the equities market, we advise investors to tread with caution. However, the equities market is set for a rebound as index slides to bottom out.”
The market breadth closed positive, with 21 gainers against 10 losers. Chams recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent, to close at 33 kobo, per share.
Dangote Flour Mills followed with a gain of 9.78 per cent to close at N10.10, while Trans Nationwide Express appreciated by 9.33 per cent, to close at 82 kobo, per share.
Africa Prudential went up by 8.01 percent, to close at N4.18, while Sterling Bank rose by 5.38 per cent to close at N2.74, per share. On the other hand, John Holt led the losers’ chart by 9.62 per cent to close at 47 kobo, per share.
Royal Exchange followed with a decline of 8.70 per cent to close at 21 kobo, while AG Leventis Nigeria rose by 7.14 per cent to close at 26 kobo, per share.
May & Baker Nigeria declined by 5.26 percent, to close at N2.70 and International Breweries declined by 2.13 per cent to close at N23, per share.
The total volume traded appreciated by 43.4 per cent to 321.36 million shares, worth N4.66 billion, and traded in 2,979 deals.
Transactions in the shares of Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) topped the activity chart with 134.14 million shares valued at N912.18 million.
Guaranty Trust Bank followed with 61.1 million shares worth N2.15 billion, while African Alliance Insurance traded 15 million shares valued at N3 million.
Chams traded 14.02 million shares valued at N4.52 million, while United Bank for Bank (UBA) sold 11.3 million shares worth N72.05 million.
