Nigeria’s equity market records N185bn gain

Nigeria’s equity market concluded Tuesday on a positive trajectory, with an impressive gain of N185 billion. This surge was largely attributed to the upward movements in the shares of Flour Mill Nigeria Plc, Dangote Sugar Refinery, Nahco, and other notable companies. Market capitalization of listed equities surged by 0.51%, reaching N36.390 trillion compared to the N36.205 trillion recorded on the previous day, Monday. The NGX All Share Index exhibited growth as well, ascending by 338.96 basis points to attain 66490.34 points from the 66151.38 points registered on the prior day. In-depth analysis of the day’s trading activities reveals Flour Mills Nigeria Plc and Champion Breweries leading the gainers’ table, both achieving a 10% increase to conclude at N33.00 and N3.19 per share respectively. Nascon followed closely, recording a gain of 9.96% to settle at N54.10 per share. Dangote Sugar Refinery marked a 9.95% growth, reaching N57.45 per share, while Nahco clinched a 9.95% increase to close at N22.10 per share. However, on the downside, CWG and Linkage Assurance stood as the top losers for the day, experiencing a decline of 10% each, concluding at N4.05 and N0.90 per share respectively. Chellaram’s value dropped by 9.855%, closing at N3.57 per share, while Prestige Insurance recorded a 9.80% decrease, settling at N0.46 per share. UPL also experienced a downturn of 9.66%, ending at N2.15 per share. The volume of shares traded surged by 125.84 million, marking a 40.45% increase. Investors participated in the trading of 436.956 million shares valued at N7.013 billion across 7932 deals. This figure compared to the previous day’s 311.116 million shares worth N3.915 billion traded in 7193 deals. FBN Holdings Plc took the lead in market activities, with the trading of 55.146 million shares valued at N911.206 billion. Japaul Gold followed suit with 33.110 million shares worth N29.922 million, and United Bank for Africa traded 30.176 million shares at N412.171 million. Additionally, AccessCorp exchanged 25.354 million shares for N414.374 million, while Transnational Corporation of Nigeria traded 18.219 million shares valued at N127.717 million.

NGX market cap gains N1.8trn in July

Transactions at Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) closed the month of July 2023 on a positive note as earnings and dividend declarations from quoted companies helped NGX’s market cap to gain N1.814 trillion. The gain was also supported by insider dealings among companies as directors and related parties consolidated their positions in a show by such investors of their belief in the inherent values of such companies, as well as sustained positive reactions to the ongoing reforms by President Bola Tinubu. Despite the profit taking, selloffs and FX pressures witnessed within the period, the benchmark NGX All-Share index which opened the trading month at 60,968.27 points, closed at 64,337.52 points, representing a 5.53 per cent growth while year-to-date (YTD) close at 25 per cent in the month under review.  Also, market capitalization- listed value of equities rose by N1.814 trillion from N33.197 trillion to N35.011 trillion. There were also better-than-expected corporate earnings, higher dividend payouts and relatively improved liquidity as fixed income yields were not stable in the face of soaring inflation which supported buying interests in the market and flow of funds into the equity space. It will be recalled that a total turnover of 2.854 billion shares worth N37.645 billion in 41,547 deals was traded by investors on the floor of the Exchange last week Friday. The high traded volume and mixed sentiment experienced during the month reflected the buying interests by majority shareholders and activities of institutional investors as they sought to hedge against inflation on a mixed outlook for fixed income rates and yields. This followed the fact that the second quarter (Q2) performance of some quoted companies beat the inflation rate, raising hopes of better earnings that will support price and payout at the end of the financial year. Given the outcome of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting in the month under review, the prevailing mixed economic data and as well more corporate earnings now looking up, analysts believe that positive earnings surprises and possible interim dividend declarations from companies would spur increased bargain-hunting activities on the bourse. They also added that profit-taking activities on stocks that have experienced substantial appreciation might be possible. Analysts at Cordros Research said, “In the medium term, we expect investors’ sentiments to be influenced by developments in the macroeconomic landscape and the movement of yields in the fixed-income market”.