By Isamotu Idris
The Nigerian equities market staged a rebound on Thursday, gaining N328.26 billion in market value as renewed demand for shares of Seplat Energy, First HoldCo and Stanbic IBTC lifted market capitalisation by 0.20 per cent to N163.86 trillion.
The benchmark NGX All-Share Index (ASI) also rose by 0.20 per cent, climbing from 251,861.24 points to 252,366.80 points, as investors resumed buying in selected large-cap stocks following two consecutive sessions of losses.
Seplat Energy led the major gainers, appreciating by 3.12 per cent to close at N16,500 per share. Stanbic IBTC followed with a 2.55 per cent increase to N165, while First HoldCo gained 2.09 per cent to N105.15.
Oando advanced by 1.60 per cent to N38, while United Bank for Africa (UBA) appreciated by 1.22 per cent to N41.50.
The positive performance pushed the market’s year-to-date return to 62.18 per cent, while market capitalisation recorded a cumulative gain of 64.89 per cent. However, the market remained down by 0.8 per cent on a month-to-date basis.
Trading activity recorded a significant increase, with investors exchanging 2.91 billion shares valued at N78.66 billion in 28,318 transactions.
Trading volume surged by 596.70 per cent from 418.35 million shares, while transaction value increased by 244.62 per cent from N22.83 billion. However, the number of deals declined by 8.38 per cent from 30,908 recorded in the previous session.
Livestock Feeds emerged as the most actively traded stock by volume, accounting for 2.20 billion shares, while First HoldCo dominated trading by value, with transactions worth N32.40 billion.
Market breadth closed positive, with 26 stocks recording gains against 20 decliners.
Fidson Healthcare topped the gainers’ table, appreciating by 9.94 per cent from N83.50 to N91.80 per share. SUNU Assurances followed with a 9.92 per cent increase to N2.88, while Champion Breweries gained 9.85 per cent to close at N11.15.
Caverton Offshore Support rose by 9.59 per cent to N4, while FTG Insurance advanced by 9.42 per cent to N1.51.
Conversely, International Breweries led the losers, shedding 7.18 per cent to close at N8.40. Tantalizer declined by 6.67 per cent to N3.50, while Honeywell Flour lost 4.85 per cent to N31.40.
Vitafoam Nigeria dropped by 4.66 per cent to N134.90, while UPDC Real Estate Investment Trust declined by 3.74 per cent to N19.30.
Sectoral performance was largely positive, with four of the six major indices closing in the green.
The Oil and Gas index led the sectoral gainers, rising by 1.90 per cent to 5,991.03 points. The Commodity index followed with a 1.36 per cent increase to 1,874.09 points.
The Insurance index gained 0.66 per cent to close at 1,057.59 points, while the Banking index advanced by 0.49 per cent to 2,356.81 points.
The Industrial Goods index remained unchanged at 12,336.94 points, while the Consumer Goods index was the only major sectoral index to record a decline, falling by 0.65 per cent to 3,931.84 points.
However, losses in selected banking stocks limited the market’s overall gains. Fidelity Bank declined by 2.83 per cent to N24, Wema Bank shed 1.52 per cent to N32.50, while Sterling Financial Holdings lost 1.25 per cent to N75. Access Holdings also slipped by 0.37 per cent to N27.
Meanwhile, the share prices of GTCO, MTN Nigeria, Airtel Africa, Dangote Cement, BUA Cement, BUA Foods, Nestlé Nigeria, Nigerian Breweries and Transcorp remained unchanged.
Thursday’s performance marked a partial recovery of losses recorded during the preceding two trading sessions.
Market capitalisation had fallen from N163.917 trillion on Monday to N163.824 trillion on Tuesday before declining further to N163.531 trillion on Wednesday. It subsequently recovered to N163.86 trillion on Thursday.
Similarly, the All-Share Index dropped from 252,456.74 points on Monday to 252,313.16 points on Tuesday and 251,861.24 points on Wednesday before rebounding to 252,366.80 points in Thursday’s trading session.
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