The Nigerian Exchnge Ltd. (NGX) had a commendable outcome as the All-Share Index (ASI) gained 352.49 points or 0.67 per cent to close at 52,701.31 from 52,348.82 that was initially recorded on Monday.
This was as the overall market capitalisation gained N192 billion or 0.67 percent to close at N28.704 trillion as against N28.512 recorded at the previous trading. The year-to-date (YTD) return also increased to 2.83 percent. This development was as a result of the gain recorded in stock of Airtel Africa, a telecommunications company.
The market breadth, when measured by market sentiment turned out positive with 15 gainers relative to 13 losers. UPDC Real Estate Investment Trust topped the gainers’ chart by 10 percent to close at N3.30 per share.
Following UPDC is MRS Oil with 9.93 percent gain to close at N15.50, while Chellerams followed by 9.92 percent gain to close at N1.33 per share. Sunu Assurances also recorded 8.82 percent gain to close at 37k, while MCNichols made a 7.02 percent gain to close at 61k per share.
On the other hand, UPDC topped the losers’ chart by 6.93 percent to close at 94k per share, followed by Geregu Power with a 6.71 percent loss to close at N139, while Linkage Assurance ranked third with a 6.38 percent loss to close at 44k per share. Royal Exchange went down by 5.26 percent to close at 90k, while 5.21 percent for PZ to close at N10 per share.
The overall trade turnover went up by 36.73 per cent to 228.49 million units, valued at N4.44 billion and exchanged in 3,681 deals. Transactions accorded to the shares of Sterling Bank topped the activity chart with 76.74 million shares valued at N118.91 million.
Chams plc followed with a total of 17.57 million shares worth N5.18 million, while Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) came third with 16.76 million shares valued at N401.98 million.
Zenith Bank was not left out as the bank traded 11.32 million shares valued at N276.03 million, while Royal Exchange traded 10.65 million shares worth N9.34 million.
All in all, it was indeed a positive closing for the stock market and Nigerian Exchange LTD as a whole; hopes are high as we look forward to the next trading period.
