The Nigerian Stock Exchange opened the week on a negative note, as the All Share Index closed at 36,479.42 basis points, down 0.6%. Year to date, the index is down 4.61%.
Top Gainers and Losers
Insurance stocks led the gainers in today’s trading session. Consolidated Hallmark Insurance closed at N0.33, up 10%. Niger Insurance closed at N0.33, up 10%. Equity Assurance closed at 9.09%
On the flip side, Ikeja Hotel was the biggest loser in today’s trading session, closing at N2.82, down 9.90%. Aluminum Extrusion closed at 8.30, down 9.78%. United Capital closed at N2.80, down 9.09%.
Top Trades by Volume
UBA Plc was the top traded stock by volume. 21.6 million shares valued at N208 million were traded in 109 deals. Closely following was United Capital, which traded 20.3 million shares valued at N58.2 million traded in 254 deals. 16.8 million Regency Alliances shares valued at N3.9 million were traded in 22 deals.
Corporate Actions
Zenith Bank
Zenith Bank has released its financial statements for the half year ended June 2018. Gross Earnings dropped from N380 billion in 2017 to N322 billion in 2018. Profit before tax, however, increased from N92 billion in 2017 to N107 billion in 2018.
The bank has also declared an interim dividend of N0.30 per share. Qualification date for the dividend is August 17, 2018. The shareholder’s register will be closed on August 20, 2018.
Conoil Plc
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has suspended trading in Conoil Plc shares. The Exchange took the decision following the company’s failure to release its financial statements as at when due.
Unity Kapital Assurance
The insurance firm released its Q1 and Q2 2018 results. For the first quarter ended March 2018, Gross Premium Written increased from N631 million in 2017 to N952 million in 2018. Profit before tax, however, fell from N224 million in 2017 to N125 million in 2018. Profit after tax also dropped from N199 million in 2017 to N100 million in 2018.
Second quarter results show Gross Premium Written increased from N461 million in 2017 to N905 million in 2018. The company made a loss before tax of N32 million as against a profit before tax of N76.1 million in 2017. The company also made a loss of N35.1 million in 2018 as against a profit after tax of N45.2 million in 2017.
