Equities sustain rally with N66b gain

Taofik Salako, Deputy Group Business EditorNIGERIAN equities continued on their upswing yesterday as sustained bargain hunting added N66 billion capital gains.The All-Share Index (ASI)- the benchmark index at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) rose by 125.70 points, representing a growth of 0.31 per cent to close at 40,590.85 points.Aggregate market capitalisation of all quoted equities also rose by N66 billion to close at N21.224 trillion.The uptrend was also driven by price appreciation in medium and large capitalised stocks amongst which are; SEPLAT, Nigerian Breweries, Ardova Plc, Dangote Sugar Refinery and Guaranty Trust Bank.Analysts at Afrinvest Limited said: We anticipate the equities market would close on a positive note for the week.Market sentiment, as measured by market breadth, was positive, as 27 stocks gained, relative to 14 losers. FTN Cocoa Processors, Livestock Feeds and SEPLAT recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent each, to close at 66 kobo, N1.65 and N451.00, respectively, per share. Ardova Plc followed with a gain 9.96 per cent to close at N14.90, while Japaul Gold and Ventures rose by 9.88 per cent to close at 89 kobo, per share.Read Also:NSE unveils post-demutualisation planOn the other hand, Sovereign Trust Insurance led the losers chart by 9.09 per cent, to close at 20 kobo, per share. Courteville Business Solutions followed with a decline of 8.70 per cent, to close at 21 kobo, while Lasaco Assurance shed 7.89 per cent to close at 35 kobo, per share.Unilever Nigeria shed 6.47 per cent to close at N13.00, while Sterling Bank depreciated by 4.39 per cent to close at N1.96, per share.The total volume of trades increased significantly by 755.0 per cent to 2.133 billion units, valued at N7.509 billion, and exchanged in 4,558 deals. Transactions in the shares of Champion Breweries topped the activity chart with 1.905 billion shares valued at N4.951 billion. United Bank for Africa (UBA) followed with 26.487 million shares worth N228.449 million, while Dangote Sugar Refinery traded 21.473 million shares valued at N397.845 million.Fidelity Bank traded 15.710 million shares valued at N39.748 million, while Access Bank transacted 13.293 million shares worth N117.053 million.
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