Chams, PZ, Others Drive Equity Market To N874bn Gain

The equities of Chams Holdings Plc (+10 per cent), PZ Cussons (+10 per cent) and 66 other gainers drove the equity market to a gain of N874bn at the close of trading on Monday.

The All-Share Index appreciated by 1.92 per cent or 1,597.93 basis points to close at N 84,640.89, which is closer to the 85,000 points than it was on Friday. The year-to-date gains also strengthened to 13.20 per cent from 11.06 per cent from the previous trading session.

The most traded stocks and thus drivers of the day’s market were the stocks of Transcorp Plc, United Bank for Africa, Zenith Bank, Access Holdings and MTN Nigeria whose share price stayed flat despite 2,832,680 units worth N791.554m being exchanged in 419 deals.

Transaction volume for the day rose to 807.51 million, compared to the previous trading session’s 600.63 million units with the value of the traded stocks improving to N11.03bn from N9.097bn. The shares were traded in 13,647 deals executed. The number of stocks traded by the close of the session stood at 127.

Market Breadth improved to 68 gainers and eight losers.

The stocks of Chams Holdings, Daar Communications, Axa Mansard, PZ Cussons, Sovereign Insurance Plc and Tantalizer Plc appreciated by 10 per cent each to close at N2.53, N0.99, N6.49, N32.45, N0.66, and N0.55 per units, respectively.

Chams which led the gainers’ chart, over the weekend announced that its fintech subsidiary, Chams Switch, has partnered with Chinese digital payment solution, UnionPay, to boost international payments for UnionPay cards issued by banks in Nigeria.  According to a statement from Chams, the partnership will reinforce collaboration among businesses and traders, engaged in global commerce as it offers a cost-effective alternative for international trade, particularly with a focus on transactions involving China and the Southeast Asia region.

The losers include Abbey Mortgage Bank Plc, Julius Berger, Custodian, Africa Prudential, FBN Holdings, Champion, ABC Transport and United Capital which lost 9.52 per cent, 3.54 per cent, 3.45 per cent, 2.78 per cent, 1.79 per cent, 1.27 per cent, 1.05 per cent and 0.39 per cent, respectively.

Volume and Value drivers of the day’s trading were led by stocks of Transcorp, AIICO, Nascon Allied Industries and Zenith Bank.

On the bullish trend of the market, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Parthian Partners, Oluseye Awosoga, said that the sustained party is predicated on the inflow of foreign investment.

He said, “We haven’t seen a lot of foreign investors in the market.  A lot of our stocks are cheap now given the devaluation that has happened to the naira. If we can solve our FX problems, wherein foreign investors feel that they can take their money out easily, then I expect them to pile in because, in comparison to other emerging markets, we are relatively cheap but if you are just looking at it based on Nigerian and local factors, I think this rally is due for a significant pullback before we decide whether we are continuing on this trajectory or not.

“At this point, I’m cautiously optimistic except if our FX situation changes significantly. If the FX situation changes, I expect a significant rally because like I said earlier, we are relatively cheap compared to other emerging markets.”