Business
Equity reverses negative sentiment, gains 0.56%
The Nigerian Stock Exchange
FELIX OLOYEDE
Nigerian stock market rebound on Tuesday, appreciated 0.56 per cent on the back of by the sterling performance of stocks in the banking sector.
The All Share Index (ASI) was up by 179.02 absolute points, representing an increase of 0.56 per cent at it berthed at 32,381.00 points. Similarly, the Market Capitalization was up by N65.35 billion, representing a growth of 0.56 per cent, closing at N11.82 trillion.
The upturn was driven by gains recorded in medium and large capitalized stocks led by UBA (+6.94 per cent), FBNH (+6.71 per cent), FO (+5.26 per cent), Zenith Bank (+2.47 per cent), etc.
First Aluminum set the pace for 26 gainers, gaining 10 per cent, trailed by Prestige and Royal Exchange, which were up 9.62 per cent and 9.52 per cent respectively.
On the flip side, Red Star Express led other 17 loser, dropping -9.09 per cent, while Cornerstone Insurance and Standard Alliance Insurance both declined by -8.70 per cent.
Total volume of trades increased by 67.94 per cent to 269.81 million units, valued at N2.65 billion, and exchanged in 4,705 deals.
Access Bank sold 21,665.37 shares, representing 8.03 per cent of market volume, to top the volume chart. A total volume of 269,814,285 stocks were traded on Tuesday.
The Banking index posted the largest gain, climbed 1.26 per cent due to investor interest in UBA, FBNH and Zenith Bank.
“We reiterate our negative outlook for the equities market in the short-to-medium term, amidst the lingering rout in emerging market assets, political concerns ahead of the 2019 elections, and the absence of a positive market trigger. However, positive macroeconomic fundamentals remain supportive of a recovery in the long term,” analysts from Cordros Capital posited.
Meanwhile, the Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date losses of the bourse moderated to -7.08 per cent and -15.33 percent respectively.
