Gains in BUA Cement, UBN others buoy capitalisation further by N178b

The bulls sustained dominance on the equities sector of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) yesterday, as gains in BUA Cement and Union Bank of Nigeria lifted market capitalisation further by N178 billion.

Specifically, the All Share Index (ASI) rose by 326.51 absolute points, representing a gain of 0.73 per cent to close at 44,788.14 points. Accordingly, investors gained N178 billion in value as market capitalisation went up to N24.395 trillion.

The upturn was impacted by gains recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are; BUA Cement, Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN), Jaiz Bank, Sterling Bank and Sunu Assurance Plc.

On market outlook, GTI Securities Limited said “we expect mixed sentiments to persist, as pre-election risks amplify and investors anticipate the release of companies third quarter (Q3), 2022 results.”

Vetiva Dealing and Brokerage said: “Despite the negative sentiment today, Buacement single-handedly propped up the market. In the absence of another one-off gain in any of the large-cap stocks tomorrow, we anticipate a bearish session.”

As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was negative, as 19 stocks lost relative to nine gainers. BUA Cement recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent to close at N68.20 kobo. SUNU Assurance followed with a gain of 9.38 per cent to close at 35 kobos, while Jaiz Bank garnered 8.99 per cent to close at 97 kobo.

Union Bank gained 8.47 per cent to close at N6.40, while R.T. Briscoe Nigeria appreciated by 7.14 per cent to close at 30 kobo, per share. Sovereign Trust gained four per cent to close at 26 kobo. Japaul oil added 3.70 per cent to close at 28 kobo. Sterling Bank appreciated by 2.63 per cent to close at N1.56 kobo.

TransNational Corporation of Nigeria garnered 1.90 per cent to close at N1.07 kobo.

On the other hand, Royal Exchange led the losers’ chart by 9.64 per cent to close at 75 kobo. Multiverse Mining & Exploration followed with a decline of 8.50 per cent to close at N4.20 kobo while May & Baker Nigeria went down by 6.67 to close at N3.92 kobo.

Cornerstone Insurance lost 5.88 per cent to close at 48 kobo, while Nigerian Exchange Group (NGXGroup) shed 4.42 per cent to close at N20.55 kobo.

FBN Holdings shed 4.17 per cent to close at N9.20 kobo. Honeywell flourmills depreciated by 3.33 per cent to close at N2.32 kobo. United Capital declined by 2.80 kobo to close at N12.15 kobo. Unilever lost 2.78 kobo to close at N10.50 kobo.

Fidelity Bank depreciated by 1.87 per cent to close at N3.68 kobo. Champion Breweries declined by 1.47 per cent to close at N3.35 kobo. Lafarge WAPCO depreciated by 1.33 per cent to close at N22.25 kobo. Zenith Bank also shed 1.25 per cent to close at N19.75 kobo.

The total volume of trades increased by 120.12 per cent to 159.211 million units, valued at N2.729 billion, and exchanged in 3,385 deals.

Transactions in the shares of Mutual Benefits Assurance topped the activity chart with 47.425 million shares valued at N13.279 million. Sterling Bank followed with 24.437 million shares worth N37.543 million, while Jaiz Bank traded 10.609 million shares valued at N10.069 million.

Fidelity Bank traded 10.311 million shares valued at N37.893 million, while Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) transacted 6.322 million shares worth N115.662 million.