NGX Pops as BUA Foods, Zenith, Transcorp Rally
The equities segment of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) spiked as investors pick interest in Zenith Bank, Transcorp and BUA Foods. According to stockbrokers, the local bourse extended its 5-day positive run as the exchange All-share index expanded while year-to-date advanced.
Data from the stock market showed that the all-share index gained 27 basis points to print at 52,235.88 points. The momentum was driven by 5.9% share appreciation in BUAFOODS, ZENITH inched higher by +1.1%, and TRANSCORP popped up by +5.8%.
Accordingly, year-to-date return strengthened to 1.9% from 1.7% on Wednesday while market capitalisation advanced ₦75.3 billion to ₦28.4 trillion.
Market data showed that activity level declined as volume and value traded dipped 64.0% and 9.5% to 2.3 billion units and ₦17.6 billion respectively.
In its market report, Afrinvest Limited said performance across sectors within its coverage was slightly bullish as 3 indices gained, 2 lost while the AFR-ICT index closed flat.
The Consumer Goods index led the charge up 2.0% following buying interest in BUAFOODS (+5.9%), PZ (+7.5%), and HONYFLOUR (+10.0%).
Trailing, the Insurance and Oil & Gas indices rose 0.4% and 0.1% respectively following price uptick in MANSARD (+3.8%), MBENEFIT (+3.2%), and ETERNA (+5.1%).
Conversely, the Banking and Industrial Goods declined 0.5% and 0.1% on the back of selloffs in ACCESSCORP, FIDELITY, WAPCO, and BERGER. Accesscorp lost 3.4%. Fidelity declined by 1.1, WAPCO share nosedived by 0.8 and Berger slumped.
Investor sentiment, as measured by market breadth, weakened to 0.13x from 0.54x in the prior session as 26 stocks advanced, 18 declined and 63 closed flat.
Stockbrokers at Afrinvest said they expect the upbeat performance to persist on account of positive investor sentiment. #NGX Pops as BUA Foods, Zenith, Transcorp Rally Naira Steadies as Banks Issue Update on FX Purchase
