Kayode Tokede: The Nigerian equities market continued its upward trend yesterday, with notable price gains in Transcorp Hotels Plc and 22 other companies pushing market capitalization up by N122.5 billion.
As the week kicked off, the market capitalization saw an impressive increase of N376 billion, fueled by positive investor sentiment toward Seplat Energy Plc and 30 other stocks. The Nigerian Exchange Limited All-Share Index (NGX ASI) rose by 201.97 basis points, or 0.20 percent, closing at 98,892.58 basis points. The Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date returns now sit at +0.3 percent and +32.3 percent, respectively.
The market capitalization appreciated by N122.5 billion, ending the day at N59.924 trillion. Across various sectors, the NGX Insurance Index climbed by 1.2 percent, while the NGX Banking Index advanced by 0.9 percent. In contrast, the NGX Consumer Goods Index and the NGX Oil & Gas Index saw declines of 0.7 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively, with the NGX Industrial Goods Index remaining unchanged.
Investor sentiment appeared positive based on market breadth, as 23 stocks experienced gains compared to 15 that declined. Transcorp Hotels led the gainers, rising by 9.28 percent to close at N106.00 per share, followed closely by Wapic Insurance, which gained 9.09 percent to end at 96 kobo. UPDC also saw a significant increase of 6.90 percent, closing at N1.55 per share. Other notable gainers included Universal Insurance, up 5.88 percent to 36 kobo, and ABC Transport, which rose 4.65 percent to close at N1.35 per share.
On the flip side, John Holts topped the losers’ list, dropping 9.84 percent to close at N2.75 per share. Tantalizer mirrored this decline, also falling 9.84 percent to end at 55 kobo, while Dangote Sugar Refinery saw a decrease of 8.82 percent, closing at N31.00 per share. Regency Alliance Insurance was down by 7.14 percent, closing at 52 kobo, and Honeywell Flour Mills slipped 5.81 percent to finish at N4.38 per share.
Total trading volume surged by 45.92 percent to reach 591.010 million units, valued at N24.845 billion, across 6,987 transactions. Champion Breweries led the day’s trading activity, with 255.277 million shares valued at N1.021 billion. Japaul Gold & Ventures followed with 108.849 million shares worth N255.822 million, and United Bank for Africa (UBA) traded 44.990 million shares valued at N1.191 billion. Meanwhile, FCMB Group and C&I Leasing reported trades of 19.153 million shares worth N160.373 million and 16.913 million shares worth N59.075 million, respectively.
Analysts at Cowry Assets Management Limited expressed a positive outlook in their recent statement, noting, “Market sentiment is expected to remain upbeat as investors look forward to more Q3 earnings reports. The market has already responded favorably to several strong Q3 releases, giving us valuable insights into potential year-end performance.
“Despite ongoing market corrections and pullbacks, we advise investors to strategically reposition their portfolios, targeting sectors and companies that demonstrate strong growth and earnings potential,” they added.
