Nestle, 16 others push Nigerian equity market upward 0.19%

By FELIX OLOYEDE
Gains by Nestle and 16 other stocks spurred the Nigerian equities market to rally 0.19 per cent on Friday, as investors engaged in bargain hunting.
The All Share Index (ASI) increased by 52.54 absolute points, representing a growth of 0.19 per cent to close at 27,668.69 points, while the Market Capitalization was up N25.57 billion representing an increase of 0.13 per cent, to close at N13.48 trillion.
CUTIX added 9.86 per cent to emerge the top gainer, while PORTPAINT dropped -9.72 per cent to the top 16 losers’ chart.
The upturn was impacted by gains recorded in large and medium capitalized stocks, amongst which are; STANBIC (+7.26%), DANGSUGAR (+4.74%), OANDO (+4.17%), FBNH (+3.67%), FLOURMILL (+2.19%), UACN (+1.94%), NB (+1.06%), NESTLE (+0.83%), and FCMB (0.60%).
Investors exchanged 177.57 million shares valued at N5.92 billion in 3,484 deals on Friday, as NB emerge the most active in terms of volume with 28.14 million units of its shares sold for N1.48 billion, while NESTLE was the most active with regards to value, exchanging 2.10 million units worth N2.54 billion.
The market has lost -11.87 per cent this year alone, as investors continued to remain on the sideline due to the country’s slow economic growth.