Weakened market activity and bearish investor sentiment were not enough to bind the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) to the Philistines on Wednesday as it rallied by 0.61 per cent.
The sterling performance put up by the major sectors of the bourse ensured that the upward trajectory was maintained, with the news of the removal of Mr Wale Edun as Finance Minister not causing panic among traders, ostensibly because his replacement, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, a tax expert, is known to the capital market.
Business Post reports that the banking segment grew by 2.03 per cent, the insurance counter firmed up by 1.07 per cent, the consumer goods sector appreciated by 0.45 per cent, the industrial goods space improved by 0.15 per cent, and the energy industry expanded by 0.02 per cent.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) surged by 1,336.39 points to 219,586.20 points from 218,249.81 points, and the market capitalisation soared by N861 billion to N141.384 trillion from N140.523 trillion.
The market breadth index remained negative after Customs Street ended with 33 price losers and 28 price gainers, led by the quintet of UAC Nigeria, CAP, Vitafoam Nigeria, Transcorp Hotel, and Trans-Nationwide Express, which gained 10.00 per cent each to sell for N121.00, N110.00, N143.00, N223.30, and N7.92, respectively.
Neimeth ended the session on top of the losers’ chart after it shed 10.00 per cent to quote at N9.00. Abbey Mortgage Bank lost 9.85 per cent to settle at N5.95, Living Trust Mortgage Bank declined by 8.94 per cent to N3.36, ABC Transport crashed by 8.65 per cent to N5.70, and Haldane McCall tumbled by 6.23 per cent to N3.61.
A total of 683.7 million stocks valued at N36.2 billion were traded in 51,694 deals yesterday versus the 842.5 million stocks worth N44.9 billion transacted in 61,617 deals a day earlier, representing a drop in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 18.85 per cent, 19.38 per cent, and 16.10 per cent, respectively.
The activity chart was led by First Holdco, which transacted 76.6 million shares worth N5.8 billion, UBA exchanged 55.3 million stocks valued at N2.8 billion, Access Holdings traded 52.4 million equities for N1.6 billion, GTCO sold 37.4 million shares worth N4.9 billion, and Japaul exchanged 30.2 million equities valued at N94.4 million.
