Stocks Appreciate as Nigerian Economy Expands More than 5%

Stocks Appreciate as Nigerian Economy Expands More than 5%

Stocks appreciate 0.07 per cent Thursday, reversing the previous day’s decline as the Nigerian economy expands more than 5% in the second quarter of 2021, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The positive sentiment represents the fourth consecutive trading session of seesaw movement in the equity market, stockbrokers at Atlass Portfolios said.

The Nigerian Exchange All-share index jumps 0.07 per cent due to price appreciation in HONYFLOUR, LIVESTOCK, CHIPLC, AFRIPRUD, FBNH, ACCESS, ETI, and PRESCO.

Consequently, the stock market capitalization advanced by 0.07 per cent to N20.6 trillion while year to date loss moderated.

Following the bargain hunting, the market breadth closed positive, recording 27 gainers as against 12 losers.

Meanwhile, market activities closed with the volume of stocks traded on the exchange depreciating by 6.05 per cent, while the value of stocks traded on the exchange appreciates by 69.81 per cent.

A total of 186.33 million units of shares valued at ₦1.79 billion were traded in 3,595 deals.

SOVRENINS led the volume chart, accounting for 10.56 per cent of the total volume of trades, followed by WAPCO (9.36%), HONYFLOUR (8.07%), MBENEFIT (7.86%), and UPDC (5.58%) to complete the top five on the volume chart.

MTNN led the value chart with 27.69 per cent of the total value of trade on the exchange.

ETERNA topped the gainers’ list, as its share prices edged upward by 9.97 per cent, while IKEJAHOTEL led the losers’ table with its share price declining by 10.00 per cent to close at ₦1.26 after opening the day at ₦1.40.

Atlass Portfolios expects the positive sentiment to prevail in the equity market tomorrow, as yield in the last Nigeria Treasury Bill auction declined to 6.8% on a 364-day tenor note.

In its market report, Afrinvest said performance across sectors under its coverage was mixed as 3 indices gained while the AFR-ICT, Industrial and Consumer Goods indices closed flat.

The Insurance index led gainers, jumped 2.3% due to buying interest in AIICO (+8.4%), WAPIC (+2.0), and MANSARD (+1.2%). Similarly, the Oil & Gas and Banking indices rose 0.2% and 0.1% respectively due to gains in ETERNA (+10.0%), ACCESS (+1.1%), and FBNH (+1.4%).

“In the last trading session for the week, we expect a bullish market performance on the back of bargain hunting activities”, analysts projected.

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Stocks Appreciate as Nigerian Economy Expands