Geregu, FBN Holdings, others drive NGX up by N314bn

The equity market, on Wednesday, sustained its bullish momentum by adding N314 billion profit to the portfolios of investors.

Specifically, the market capitalisation which opened at N56.133 trillion, gained N314 billion or 0.56 per cent to close at N56.447 trillion.

The All-Share Index also rose by 0.56 per cent or 545 points, to close at 98,230.92 points, in contrast to 97,685.64 points posted on Thursday.

Sustained interest in Geregu, FBN Holdings, Access Corporation, Fidelity Bank, alongside Oando Plc, United Capital, among other advanced stocks, drove the market’s positive performance.

Consequently, the Year-To-Date (YTD) return increased by 31.37 per cent.

Market breadth also closed positive with 28 gainers and 26 losers on the floor of the Exchange.

On the gainers’ table, Sky Shelter Fund Plc led by 9.99 per cent to close at N179.45, Honeywell Flour followed by 9.96 per cent to close at N5.41 per share.

Meyer Plc advanced by 9.95 per cent to close at N6.41, Academy Press increased by 9.89 per cent to close at N2.89, and Caverton appreciated by 9.68 per cent to close at 3.06 per share.

On the other side, Northern Nigeria Flour Mills led the losers’ table by 10 per cent to close at N39.15, Berger Paints trailed by 9.81 per cent to close at N21.60 per share.

Deap Capital Management and Trust Plc lost 9.68 per cent to close at 84k, Livestock decreased by 9.09 per cent to close at N2.40, while Omatek went down by 9.09 per cent to close at 65k per share.

However, analysis of the market activities showed trade turnover settled lower relative to the previous session, with the value of transactions down by 19.49 per cent.

A total of 361.30 million shares valued at N7.57 billion were exchanged in 9,627 deals, compared with 471.30 million shares valued at N9.40 billion in 12,061 deals traded in the previous session.

Meanwhile, JapaulGold for the third time in a row led the activity chart in volume with 64.04 million shares, while Geregu led in value with deals worth N1.34 billion.