• Mecure listing to add N11.9b to exchange’s capitalisation
Following gains recorded by many bluechip stocks, especially Seplat Energy and BUA Cement, transactions on the equities sector of the Nigeria Exchange Limited (NGX) reopened in an upbeat yesterday, as market capitalisation increased by N155 billion.

Indeed, yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 282.69 points, representing a gain of 0.40 per cent, to close at 70,479.62 points. Similarly, the overall market capitalisation value gained N155 billion to close at N38.712 trillion.

The positive performance was driven by price appreciation in large and medium capitalised stocks, which are; Seplat Energy, BUA Cement, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria, Oando and Fidelity Bank.

Analysts at United Capital Plc, said: “Investors’ sentiments towards the Nigerian equities market would be mixed. We expect buy-interest to be driven by stocks with good performance in the Q3, 2023 earnings season.

“However, we anticipate pockets of profit-booking activity in the week. Also, as monetary authorities shift towards orthodox methods of monetary policy, the expected rise in the yield environment will likely draw investors to the safer fixed-income instruments.”

Vetiva Dealings and Brokerage, said:” We still expect mixed trading tomorrow, as investors continue to favour the banking sector, while large-cap counters dictate market direction.”

As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was mixed, as 27 stocks gained relative to 28 losers. Thomas Wyatt Nigeria recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent to close at N4.07 kobo.

Chams Holding Company followed with a gain of 9.90 per cent to close at N2.22 and GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria up by 9.68 per cent to close at N13.60 kobo.

Oando appreciated by 9.66 per cent to close at N9.65, while Japaul Gold and Ventures gained 9.45 per cent to close at N1.39 kobo.

On the other hand, Associated Bus Company led the losers’ chart by 9.30 per cent to close at 78 kobo. Cornerstone Insurance followed with a decline of 9.27 per cent to close at N1.37 kobo while Champion Breweries lost 9.19 per cent to close at N3.36 kobo.

International Breweries declined 8.79 per cent to close at N4.15, while DAAR Communications shed 8.70 per cent to close at 21 kobo.

The total volume traded declined by 4.7 per cent to 391.01 million units, valued at N7.71 billion, and exchanged in 6,837 deals. Transactions in the shares of United Bank for Africa (UBA) topped the activity chart with 105.627 million shares valued at N2.138 billion.

FBN Holdings (FBNH) followed with 33.268 million shares worth N602.499 million, while Japaul Gold & Ventures traded 21.348 million shares valued at N29.608 million.

Fidelity Bank traded 20.439 million shares valued at N175.965 million, while Access Holdings transacted 19.503 million shares worth N335.651 million.

Meanwhile, NGX has stated that the Mecure Industries Limited proposed listing of four billion ordinary shares (4,000,000,000) at N2.96 per share by way of introduction will add N11.9 billion to the market capitalisation of the Exchange.

For more than a decade, the human pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals manufacturing company has tapped into the power of new technology and innovation to advance the practice of medicine.

MeCure pioneered the development of novel products based on advances in technology and launched the pharmaceutical industry’s first tablet in a capsule formulation called Liquitab Floatcap.

MeCure listing on the Exchange further reinforces itself as a platform of choice for corporates looking to raise capital. Already, the exchange has secured listings from VFD Group, Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund (NIDF) and Africa Plus Partners in 2023.

The NGX added that it would continue to strengthen its value proposition for corporates to consider the Nigerian capital market for their fundraising needs, reinventing itself and maintaining advocacy with policymakers and regulators to make listing in the public markets attractive.