NGX sustains gains as Airtel Africa, 27 stocks lift capitalisation by N273b

Repositioning for the 2022 full-year earnings and dividend declaration continued yesterday, as bargain hunting in Airtel Africa and 27 stocks lifted market capitalisation further by N273 billion.

At the close of trading yesterday on the equities sector of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), the All Share Index (ASI) rose by 499.95 absolute points, representing a gain of 0.95 per cent to close at 53,157.83 points. Accordingly, investors gained N273 billion in value as market capitalisation went up to N28.954 trillion.

The upturn was impacted by gains recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are; Airtel Africa, Geregu Power, Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO), Cadbury Nigeria and Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO).

On market outlook, United Capital Plc said the market has maintained strength despite signs of overstretching.

“Over the medium term, we retain our positive outlook for Nigerian equities, supported by depressed yields in the money market space. However, we express caution that in the coming days, significant profit taking activities could see the market witness a pull back.”

Vetiva Dealings and Brokerage said: “Investors continue to buy up counters across board, especially in the banking sector, as four out of the five Tier I banks closed the day higher. Similar to recent sessions, we expect full-year results to fuel market activity in the short-term.”

Also, market breadth closed positive as 28 stocks posted gains while 15 declined. John Holt and Geregu Power recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent each to close at N1.21 and N176.00 respectively, while NAHCO followed with a gain of 9.62 per cent to close at N8.55 kobo.

International Energy Insurance went up by 9.52 per cent to close at 69 kobo, while May & Baker Nigeria appreciated by 8.26 per cent to close at N4.85 kobo.

On the other hand, Wapic Insurance led the losers’ chart by 8.89 per cent to close at 41 kobo. Tripple Gee & Company followed with a decline of 8.57 per cent to close at 96 kobo, while Royal Exchange went down by 7.14 to close at 78 kobo.

Honeywell Flour Mills lost 6.44 per cent to close at N2.18, while UACN Property Development Company Plc (UPDC) shed 5.94 per cent to close at 95 kobo.

The total volume traded increased by 17.68 per cent to 201.359 million shares, worth N5.666 billion, and traded in 4,332 deals. Transactions in the shares of Zenith Bank topped the activity chart with 36.763 million shares valued at N924.143 million.

GTCO followed with 23.345 million shares worth N578.782 million, while Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) traded 17.123 million shares valued at N20.553 million.

United Bank for Africa (UBA) traded 11.451 million shares valued at N93.996 million, while Geregu Power transacted 11.123 million shares worth N1.792 billion.