The Nigerian Exchange Limited reviewed the indexes and added some banking stocks to the Banking Index, including FBN Holdings, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc, FCMB Group, and Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc.
The PUNCH reported that according to a corporate announcement made by the exchange on Tuesday, the equities of Jaiz Bank, Unity Bank, Wema Bank, and the delisted Union Bank of Nigeria are leaving the Banking Index.
Other financial firms previously identified were Stanbic IBTC and FCMB Group.
Index rebalancing is the process of altering the composition of a market index in order to ensure its dependability and relevance. Trading volumes can fluctuate dramatically during rebalancing, impacting stock prices, sector trends, and overall market mood.
The indices of the NGX are rebalanced semi-annually on the first business day of January and July, respectively.
“Nigerian Exchange Limited has announced the results of its half-year market index review for the following indices – NGX 30; NGX Lotus Islamic; NGX Pension; NGX Pension Broad Index; Corporate Governance Index; Afrinvest Bank Value Index; Afrinvest Dividend Yield Index; Meristem Growth Index; Meristem Value Index; and the five Sectoral Indices of The Exchange – NGX Banking, NGX Insurance, NGX Industrial, NGX Consumer Goods and NGX Oil & Gas.
“The review resulted in the entry and exit of some companies from several indices, which took effect at the market’s opening on Tuesday, January 2, 2024. The following are the new and outgoing companies in the various indices,” part of the corporate notice read.
Universal Insurance Plc joined the Insurance index, while International Energy Insurance Plc withdrew. Transcorp Hotels Plc, Fidson Healthcare Plc, Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc, and Conoil will be added to the Pension index, while PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc, Nascon Allied Industries Plc, and Unilever Nigeria Plc are expected to exit.
Nestle Nigeria Plc will leave the NGX Lotus Islamic Index. Geregu Power Plc will join the Pension Broad Index, while Glaxo Smithkline Consumer Nigeria Plc will also leave. MTN Nigeria, Vitafoam, Stanbic IBTC Holdings, and NPF microfinance bank plc will join the Afrinvest Div Yield Index, while Dangote Sugar Refinery, FCMB Group, GSK, and Cutix will leave.
In the meanwhile, the NGX closed with over N13tn gain for investors in the equity market in 2023. This gain nearly tripled the figure recorded in 2022, which stood at N5.619tn, after the market capitalization closed at N27.915tn.
At the end of the year’s trading, investors on the local exchange had gained N13.003 trillion, with the market capitalization closing at N40.917 trillion. Similarly, the exchange’s benchmark index, the All-Share Index, had risen. Its year-to-date gains were 45.90%, with the ASI closing at 74,773.77 points at the end of trade in 2023. This is a big improvement, since the ASI ended 2022 with a YTD of 19.98%.
