Zenith Bank, GTCO, UBA Surge Boost Banking Index
Zenith Bank, Access Holdings, GTCO, and UBA drove momentum in the Nigerian stock market on Monday as investors entered positions before the top-tier-1 lender earnings release.
The market experienced a sharp rally that boosted Nigerian Exchange (NGX) performance by more than 4.3% on the day. Pension Funds Administrators (PFAs) are boosting their risky asset holdings following regulatory adjustments.
With a track record for earnings growth and dividend payments, banking stocks gained attention, and their combined value surge drove key performance indicators.
Access Holding dominated trading volume in the banking sector, and Aradel Holding held sway in the oil and gas segment. Stockbrokers reported that Ticker: ACCESSCORP dominated activity by volume with 86.72 million shares traded, whereas ARADEL led by value at ₦11.02 billion.
Sector performance was broadly positive as the Banking Index rose by 471bps, driven by strong rallies in ZENITHBANK (+9.95%), ACCESSCORP (+8.87%), GTCO (+7.14%), WEMABANK (+5.58%), FCMB (+3.11%), UBA (+2.59%), and FIDELITYBK (+1.91%), while ETI shed 2.22%.
This was supported by a significant number of blocked transactions in top banks reported by stockbrokers at Anchoria Securities Limited on Monday.
GTCO recorded a single transaction involving 4.73 million shares executed at the price of ₦117.00 per share, amounting to a total trade value of ₦554.10 million.
UBA saw a single transaction involving 9.75 million shares executed at the price of ₦49.00 per share, amounting to a total trade value of ₦477.75 million.
The Consumer Goods Index rose by 144bps on the back of gains in MCNICHOLS (+10%), NASCON (+9.06%), NESTLE (+6.31%), VITAFOAM (+5.18%), NB (+3.21%), CADBURY (+3.03%), DANGSUGAR (+2.07%), GUINNESS (+1.59%), and HONYFLOUR (+1.14%), offset slightly by a 2.62% loss in PZ.
The Oil and Gas Index climbed 473bps, buoyed by ARADEL (+10%), OANDO (+10%), and JAPAULGOLD (+9.96%), while the NGX Industrial Index surged 777bps following gains in BETAGLAS (+10%), DANGCEM (+9.95%), BUACEMENT (+5.73%), WAPCO (+5.04%), and CUTIX (+2.42%).
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