NGX Advances as Nigeria Ends ‘Styled’ Imports Restriction
Equities investors in the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) recorded steep gains in four out of five trading sessions as Nigeria reversed a decision to ban 43 items from obtaining dollar sales from the Central Bank window. The market rallied on Friday, closing the week on a positive note.
In a bid to support local producers, Nigeria had placed a ban on 43 items from accessing forex from the official market, a decision that worsened the exchange rate at the parallel market in the last eight years.
The reversed FX restriction policy during the weak signal hope which also triggered strong buying interest in the latter part of the week, pushing key indicators upward as investors’ sentiments were boosted.
On Friday’s close, performance indicators advanced 0.10% while the stock market year-to-date return accelerated above 31% amidst expectation that headline inflation could reach 27%.
Data from the Nigerian Exchange showed that year-to-date return printed at 31.12% farther ahead of an annual inflation rate of 25.8%, one of the best performers in the emerging market. Then the Nigerian Exchange All-Share Index) also increased by 67.50 basis points, representing a rise of +0.10% to close at 67,200.69.
However, market activities were down, as the total volume and total value traded for the day dropped by -27.56% and -8.37% respectively, according to Atlass Portfolios Limited. Citing data from the local exchange, stockbrokers said approximately 224.07 million units valued at ₦4,164.75 million were transacted in 5,049 deals.
UBA was the most traded stock in terms of volume, accounting for 21.53% of the total volume of trades. The tier-1 bank was followed by GTCO (14.80%), ACCESSCORP (10.49%), ZENITHBANK (5.80%), and TRANSCORP (4.56%) to complete the top 5 on the volume chart.
GTCO was the most traded stock in value terms, with 27.48% of the total value of trades on the exchange. UPL topped the advancers’ chart with a price appreciation of 9.77 per cent. The Holdco was trailed by ELLAHLAKES (9.57%), CHIPLC (+9.52%), JOHNHOLT (+9.03%), THOMASWY (+8.53%), and eleven others.
Twelve stocks depreciated, according to stockbrokers’ note. DAARCOMM was the top loser, with a price depreciation of -8.70%. FTNCOCOA dipped by 4.65%, CAVERTON lost 3.38%, COURTVILLE slipped by 3.23%, TRANSCORP fell by 2.86% while WEMABANK bumped by 1.04%.
At the end of the trading session, the market breadth was slightly positive, recording 16 gainers and 12 losers while sectorial performance closed positive. According to market data, three of the five major sectors surged. The Insurance sector grew by 0.67%, followed 0.64% gain in the Consumer goods sector.
The Banking sector rose by 0.10%, while the Oil & Gas sector was down by -0.02%. The Industrial sector closed flat. Overall, equities market capitalisation increased by ₦37.08 billion, representing a growth of +0.10%, to close at ₦36.92 trillion from ₦36.88 trillion. #NGX Advances as Nigeria Ends ‘Styled’ Imports Restriction Investors Stake N653bn on Nigerian Sukuk -DMO
