Amid heavy transactions in the shares of Jaiz Bank, BUA Cement and Universal Insurance, the volume of shares traded on resumption of trading on Monday, increased by 43.47 per cent to 892.96 million shares traded on the floor of Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).
Transactions in the shares of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc and Access Holdings had lifted the volume of shares traded last week as a turnover of 4.3 billion shares worth N62.2 billion was recorded in 44,344 deals by investors on the floor of the Exchange.
Furthermore, the volume of shares traded in the previous trading session stood at 622.416 million shares while the value of shares traded stood at N6.51 billion. Reacting to this development, analysts had said profit-taking which would dominate activities at the bourse is expected to be tempered by bargain-hunting activities from “early bird” investors ahead of the H1 2023 earnings season.
Investors’ appetite for stocks continued on a positive note as investors staked N11.158 billion in 892.966 million shares in 9,276 deals at the end of trading yesterday. Jaiz Bank was the most active stock, transacting 139.89 million shares valued at 244.317 million, BUA Cement followed with the sale of 20.246 shares worth N1.74 billion while Universal Insurance traded 95.12 million shares valued at N19.253 million.
Price appreciation in the shares of GTCO, Japaul Gold, Tantalizer grew the All Share Index (ASI), albeit mildly by 0.02 per cent to close the session at 59,014.85 points from an opening value of 59,000.96 points. Similarly, market capitalization grew by N7 billion from N32.126 trillion to close at N32.133 trillion.
Accordingly, the year-to-date returns for the index increased to +15.15 per cent. Sectoral performance was broadly positive, as the - Banking (+2.92 per cent) Index, Insurance (+1.19 per cent), Industrial Goods (+0.65 per cent) and Consumer Goods (+0.15 per cent) all recorded gains while the Oil and Gas index closed flat.
Meanwhile, 46 equities appreciated in value while 23 others depreciated. Tantalizer led the gainers’ chart with 10 per cent to close at 0.22 kobo per share. Universal Insurance followed with 10 per cent to close at 0.22 kobo, Unity Bank increased by 9.80 per cent to close at N1.12, Mutual Benefits gained 9.76 per cent to close at 0.45 kobo while FTN Cocoa garnered 9.63 per cent to close at N1.48.
On the other hand, Ellah Lakes led the losers’ chart with 10 per cent to close at N3.24 per share. John Holt was next with 9.57 per cent to close at N1.04, Academy dropped 9.55 per cent to close at N1.80, Regal Insurance decreased by 7.14 per cent to close at 0.39 kobo while Omatek fell by 7.14 per cent to close at 0.26 kobo.
