NAHCO, others halt market slide, lift capitalisation by N3 billion

Following gains in Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) and 20 stocks, the equities market halted its losing streak, closing in an upbeat yesterday, as market capitalisation appreciated by N3 billion.

At the close of transactions yesterday, the All Share Index (ASI) rose by 11.54 absolute points, representing a gain of 0.02 per cent to close at 51,138.92 points. Accordingly, investors gained N3 billion in value as market capitalisation went up to N27.853 trillion.

The upturn was impacted by gains recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are NAHCO, Nigerian Breweries, Africa Prudential, Eterna and Flour Mills of Nigeria.

On market outlook, GTI Securities Limited said: “The Nigerian equities market gained marginally yesterday. However, investors are cautious as the market remains uncertain and striving towards recovery. Companies Q1, 2023 performances could be a driver for a positive shift.”

Analysts at Vetiva Dealings and Brokerage said: “We are likely to see pockets of cherry picking activities across board, as investors await Q1 earnings reports. Though we advise caution, we expect demand in TRANSCORP to continue.”

As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was mixed, as an equal number of stocks (21) gained and lost. Transnational Corporation (Transcorp) recorded the highest price gain of 9.73 per cent to close at N2.03, per share. R. T. Briscoe Nigeria followed with a gain of 9.09 per cent to close at 24 kobo, while International Energy Insurance rose by 7.50 per cent to close at N1.29 kobo.

NAHCO went up by 5.45 per cent to close at N11.6, while Africa Prudential appreciated by 4.81 per cent to close at N5.45 kobo. Eternaoil rose by 4.55 per cent to close at N5.75 kobo.

NEM appreciated by 2.83 per cent to close at N4. Cutix increased by 2.71 per cent to close at N2.27 kobo. Sterling Bank improved by 2.05 per cent to close at N1.49 kobo. FBN Holdings also gained 1.46 per cent to close at N10.45 kobo.

On the other hand, Vitafoam Nigeria led the losers’ chart by 8.65 per cent to close at N16.9 Linkage Assurance followed with a decline of 8.33 per cent to close at 44 kobo, while Chams Holding Company went down by eight per cent to close at 23 kobo.

Sovereign Trust Insurance lost 6.9 per cent to close at 27 kobo, while Courteville Business Solutions shed 6.67 per cent to close at 42 kobo. Regency Alliance insurance lost 6.45 per cent to close at 29 kobo. Mutual Benefit shed 5.88 per cent to close at 32 kobo. AIICO depreciated by 5.36 per cent to close at 53 kobo. International Breweries dropped 4.3 per cent to close at N4.45 kobo. FTN Cocoa also shed 3.70 kobo to close at 26 kobo.

The total volume traded increased by 703.18 per cent to 1.820 billion units, valued at N5.02 billion, and exchanged in 4,669 deals. Transactions in the shares of Transcorp topped the activity chart with 1.602 billion shares valued at N3.092 billion. Livingtrust Mortgage Bank followed with 69.974 million shares worth N205.053 million, while Fidelity Bank traded 15.974 million shares valued at N82.335 million.

Sterling Bank traded 13.538 million shares valued at N19.889 million, while United Bank for Africa (UBA) transacted 13.097 million shares worth N102.074 million.