Stock market rebounds as index rises by 1.24 per cent

By Helen Oji
Following price gains recorded by most blue-chip stocks, Nigerian equities rebounded yesterday, as All-Share Index (ASI) appreciated by N133 billion.
Precisely, at the close of trading yesterday, the ASI rose by 255.81 points or 1.24 per cent to
20,925.19 points. Also, investors gained N133 billion in value as market capitalisation went up to N10.905 trillion.
The upturn was impacted by gains recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are; MTN Nigeria, Lafarge Africa, Zenith Bank, Custodian Investment and United Bank for Africa (UBA).
Analysts at Afrinvest Limited attributed yesterday’s positive performance to bargain hunting albeit, expecting the bearish run to resume as investors maintain risk-off approach.
“We attribute today’s positive performance to bargain hunting albeit, we expect the bearish run to resume as investors maintain risk-off approach”, the analysts added.
Market sentiment, as measured by market breadth, was positive with 24 stocks recorded gains relative to 10 losers. FBN Holdings recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent, to close at N4.40, per share.
Sterling Bank followed with a gain 9.91 per cent to close at N1.22, while Fidelity Bank rose by 9.84 per cent to close at N2.01, per share.
Lafarge Africa went up by 9.69 per cent to close at N10.75, while Custodian Investment appreciated by 9.52 per cent to close at N5.75, per share.
On the other hand, Cadbury Nigeria led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent, to close at N6.30, per share. Ardova Plc followed with a decline of 9.78 per cent to close at N12.45, while AXA Mansard Insurance declined by 9.71 per cent to close at N1.58, per share.
UACN Property Development Company declined by 9.47 per cent to close at 86 kobo, while Wapic Insurance shed 7.14 per cent to close at 26 kobo, per share.
The total volume of trades also increased by 329.46 per cent to 1.443 billion units, valued at N5.569 billion and exchanged in 4,647 deals. Transactions in the shares of Omoluabi Mortgage Bank topped the activity chart with 1.1 billion shares valued at N605 million.
Guaranty Trust Bank followed with 161.051 million shares worth N2.9 billion, while FBN Holdings traded 32.38 million shares valued at N140.759 million.
Zenith Bank traded 28.58 million shares valued at N366.32 million, while UBA transacted 20.64 million shares worth N110.06 million.