Investors in the Nigerian equity market saw a N1.08 trillion increase in their wealth last week.
The Punch reported that the increase came about as a result of positive trading in a few firms as investors prepared for additional half-year results releases.
The NGX All-Share increased by 3% last week, or 1,968.28 basis points, to close at 67,527.19. At the end of the week, the market capitalization increased by N1.078 trillion to N36.958 trillion.
All other indexes also ended higher, with the exception of the NGX Growth index, which lost 1.85% of its value while the NGX ASeM index ended level.
Investors traded 2.87 billion shares worth N37.05 billion in 33,968 transactions during this time on the exchange’s trading floor. This was more than the 1.812 billion shares worth N29.299 billion that were traded in 31,163 transactions the previous week.
Additionally, the financial services sector (as defined by volume) topped the activity chart with 1.424 billion shares worth N13.398 billion exchanged in 18,216 deals, contributing 49.70% and 36.16%, respectively, to the total volume and value of equity turnover. This accounted for 49% of the traded quantity distribution.
With 652.296 million shares valued at N4.434 billion traded in 4,931 transactions, the conglomerate sector came in second. The consumer goods sector came in third with a turnover of 264.359 million shares worth N12.036 billion in 10,821 deals, or 9% of the total volume of equity traded.
Over the course of the week, 55 stocks rose, compared to 32 stocks the week before. In contrast, 28 stocks had a decline in value, down from 46 the week before, while 72 stocks stayed steady, down from 77 the week before.
Omatek Ventures Plc, which increased by 53.33 percent to settle at N0.46, topped the list of gainers.
NASCON, which had also agreed to merge with Dangote Rice Limited, and Dangote Sugar both saw gains of 27.37 percent and 24.25 percent, respectively, to conclude the week at N60.50 and N55.60, respectively.
The shares of the pharmaceutical company Glaxo SmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc, which had announced the closing of its activities in Nigeria, increased by 22.64 percent to finish at N13, and by 22.55 percent to conclude at N1.25 for the real estate company UPDC.
Computer Warehouse Group, which lost 19.80% to close at N4.01, and John Holt, which lost 14.38% to close at N1.31, were at the top of the losers’ table.
The upcoming week, according to analysts at Cowry Asset Management Limited, “Anticipates that the market sentiment will remain mixed due to ongoing portfolio realignments.”
Deal-seeking and uncertainty about future money market returns, especially in light of the upcoming earnings reports from top banks and other factors, will have an impact on this.
