Index rises by 0.6% amid bargain hunting ahead of more corporate actions

Anticipation of improved first quarter (Q1) earnings have continued to trigger bargain hunting in the equities sector of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX)as the all-share index (ASI) appreciated further by 0.6 per cent.

At the close of transactions yesterday,the ASI gained 537.15 points, representing a gain of 0.55 per cent to close at 98,762.78 points. Also, market capitalisation rose by N304 billion to close at N55.857 trillion.

Analysts linked the performance to bargain hunters positioning for bluechip companies as profit-taking slows down amid rekindled buying interest ahead of more scorecards as investors picked blue chips and dividend-paying stocks.

Consequently, the year-to-date return rose to 32.08 per cent as 29 stocks recorded price appreciation while 14 others constituted the losers’ chart.

Yesterday’s upturn was impacted by gains recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are; Presco, Conoil, Julius Berger, Dangote Sugar Refinery, Flourmills, GTCO, CAP and United Bank for Africa.

On what will shape the market in the next trading session, analysts at Vetiva Dealings and Brokerage said: “In today’s (yesterday)session, the market traded in line with the latest earnings reports. We expect these earnings to drive market sentiment in Friday’s session. That said, we expect the market to trade with a positive tilt to close out the week.”

On the price movement chart, Presco Plc and Flour Mills Nigeria Plc led the gainers table with 10 per cent each to close at N229.90 kobo and N33.55 kobo respectively.

Sterling Bank followed with a gain of 9.98 per cent to close at N4.74 kobo. Dangote Sugar was up by 9.90 per cent to close at N42.75 kobo. Fidson also added 9.76 per cent to close at N15.75 kobo.

On the contrary, National. Salt Company of Nigeria ( NASCON) recorded highest loss with a drop of 9.99 per cent to close at N47.30 kobo.while UPL trailed with a drop of 9.29 per cent to close at N2.05 kobo. Omatek dipped by 9.21 per cent to close at 69 kobo, Neimeth International Pharmaceutical was down by 9.09 per cent to close at N1.80 kobo. Cutix Plc also fell by 7.74 per cent to close at N2.86 kobo.

Total volume traded increased by 20.5 per cent to 665.199 million units, valued at N5.541billion, and exchanged in 8,446 deals.

Transactions in the shares of Nigerian Breweries led the activity with 30.58 million shares worth N786.304 million. Transnational Corporation (Transcorp) followed with account of 21.604 million shares valued at N305.292 million, while Access Holdings traded 19.53 million shares valued at N342.039 million.

AIICO Insurance traded 10.259 million shares worth N10.291 million, while Universal Insurance traded 9.620 million shares worth N3.299 million.