NGX Spikes as Market Ignores Election Risk
The equities market of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) spiked Wednesday, reversing the previous day’s loss, as local investors attach a low probability to the presidential election.
With the upbeat in the Lagos bourse, key performance indicators rose significantly following heavy buying interest in mid and large-cap companies’ shares.
Market analysts said the market was spurred, in part, by strong buying interest in Geregu Power Plc ahead of dividend payments the company announced.
Citing data from the Nigerian Exchange, stockbrokers at Atlass Portfolios Limited told investors via email that year-to-date return advanced to 5.98% while investors’ wealth jerked up by ₦69 billion.
The Nigerian Exchange All-share index increased by 126.22 basis points, representing an increase of +0.23% to close at 54,315.53 points. Then, equities market capitalisation inched upward by ₦68.76 billion to close at ₦29,588.57 trillion from ₦29,519.81 trillion the previous day.
However, market activities were down, as the total volume and total Value traded for the day reduced by -48.89% and -74.82% respectively. Stock traders at Atlass Portfolios Limited to customers in an email that approximately 129.91 million units valued at ₦3,922.79 million were transacted in 2,678 deals.
AIICO was the most traded stock in terms of volume, accounting for 13.20% of the total volume of trades, followed by ZENITHBANK (10.61%), GTCO (10.11%), TRANSCORP (9.83%), and COURTVILLE (8.71%) to complete the top 5 on the volume chart.
Meanwhile, SEPLAT Plc was also the most traded stock in value terms, with 28.03% of the total value of trades on the exchange. GEREGU topped the advancers’ chart with a price appreciation of 10.00 percent, trailed by JOHNHOLT (9.59%), UPL (5.26%), VERITASKAP (5.00%), TRANSCORP (4.20%), and twelve (12) others.
Ten stocks depreciated, where WAPIC was the top loser, with a price depreciation of -6.82%, as ROYALEX (-6.67%), MBENEFIT (-5.88%), HONYFLOUR (-3.20%), and FIDELITYBK (-1.57%) also dipped in price.
Today, the market breadth closed positive, recording 17 gainers and 10 losers as market sector performance closed positive. Two out of the five major market sectors were up, which includes the Banking sector (+0.25%), and the Consumer goods sector (+0.01%).
The Insurance sector recedes by -0.79%, while the Industrial and Oil & Gas sectors were unchanged. #NGX Spikes as Market Ignores Election Risk Naira Steadies as Banks Issue Update on FX Purchase