FBNH leads bank stock rebound, capitalisation breaks N1tr ceiling

•FUGAZ shares rise by 136% in one year

FBN Holdings Plc broke the N1 trillion capitalisation ceiling at the end of yesterday’s trading after its stock surged by close to 10 per cent for the third consecutive session to settle for N29.40 kobo.

With yesterday’s rally, the premier bank has joined Zenith Bank and GTCO on the informal exclusive club of stocks worth over one trillion (SWOOT).

In the space are Dangote Cement, Airtel Africa, MTN, BUA Cement, BUA Foods and Seplat. The Nigerian capital market catches when SWOOT stocks sneeze as they control the pace and direction of the equity market.

The bank came second on the gainers’ table behind Thomas Wyatt Nigeria Plc, which gained 9.93 per cent. Among the top five gainers were Multiverse Mining and Exploration Plc, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated and Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank Plc.

Yesterday’s rally anchors firmly on an impressive backward-looking trend that defied broader low appetite. In the past year, for instance, the stock value has almost tripled. It has gained about 172.2 per cent in 12 months to push the capitalisation to N1.06 trillion.

The bulls have had a five-day unbroken run at FBNH, gaining between 9.86 and 9.93 between Monday and Wednesday.

The stock has outperformed its peers this year as in the past decade or so. Year-to-day (YTD), it has gained N18.50 kobo or 170 per cent, climbing from N10.90 kobo to its current value.

The head-turning performance of the stock, which dates back to over five years ago, has triggered a special interest among stockbrokers and investors who believe the lender rides on strong fundamentals.

But FBNH is not on a solo ride, though obviously driving a broader industry recovery. United Bank for Africa Plc has also tripled its share capital in the past year while AccessCorp rose by about 150 per cent. Other members of the FUGAZ (an acronym for the top five banks) – Zenith and GTCO – also grew by 61 and 99 per cent respectively.

Overall, the top tier-one banks have grown their share value by an average of 136 per cent in the past year.
On the account of bullish bank stocks, the market extended its positive sentiment as gains in 34 equities lifted the market capitalisation by N306 billion

Yesterday, the all-share index (ASI) gained 558.47 points, representing a gain of 0.78 per cent to close at 71,808.64 points. Also, market capitalisation rose by N306 billion to close at N39.295 trillion.
The upturn was driven by price appreciation in large and medium capitalised stocks.

On what will shape the market in the next trading session, analysts at Vetiva Dealings and Brokerage said: “The top four trades by volume and value were all banking stocks and we expect a similar trading session tomorrow.”

As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was positive, as 34 stocks gained relative to 22 losers. Thomas Wyatt Nigeria emerged as the highest price gainer of 9.93 per cent to close at N3.32 kobo. FBNH followed with a gain of 9.91 per cent to close at N29.40 kobo while Multiverse Mining and Exploration advanced by 9.9 per cent to close at N7.77 kobo.

ETI rose by 9.88 per cent to close at N18.90 kobo while Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank appreciated by 9.7 per cent to close at N1.47 kobo.
On the other side, AXA Mansard Insurance led others on the losers’ chart with 9.69 per cent to close at N4.10 kobo. Guinea Insurance followed with a decline of 9.68 per cent to close at 28 kobo, while Oando shed 9.13 per cent to close at N10.45 kobo.

Omatek Ventures lost 8.14 per cent to close at 79 kobo, while Universal Insurance depreciated by 7.41 per cent to close at 25 kobo.

The total volume traded advanced by 61.2 per cent to 690.01 million units, valued at N12.1 billion, and exchanged in 8,412 deals. Transactions in the shares of Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) led the activity with 76.703 million shares worth N3.04 billion. United Bank for Africa (UBA) followed with an account of 74.567 million shares valued at N1.658 billion, while Fidelity Bank traded 65.633 million shares valued at N596.318 million.

Access Holding traded 64.176 million shares worth N1.337 billion, while Universal Insurance traded 47.129 million shares worth N12.209 million.