The Nigerian exchange closed positive, posting its third consecutive day of gains, trading at an All-Share Index above 54,000 basis point, a price point not traded since July 2008. This comes on the back of strong earnings report from companies in the first quarter of the year.
The All-share Index (ASI) appreciated by 1.76% from 53,151.32 basis points to close at 54,085.30 basis point.
In the same vein, the Market Capitalization also grew by 1.76% to close at N29.16 trillion, adding over 500 billion worth of capitalization into the market in one day. Year-to-Date (YtD), the NGX is still one of the top-performing markets in the world as it has gained 26.61% so far.
Market breadth closed flat as CUTIX led 19 gainers, and 19 Losers topped by NB at the end of today’s session. On a sectoral level, 4 of the 5 major indices of the Nigerian Exchange closed positive.
NGX Banking, Industrial, Oil and Gas and Insurance Indices gained 0.48%, 0.01%, 0.24% and 0.32% respectively. The NGX Consumer Goods on the other hand closed negative by 2.41%.
NGX Top ASI gainers
- CUTIX up +9.96% to close at N2.87
- AIRTELAFRI up +9.89% to close at N1,767
- WEMABANK up +8.63% to close at N3.65
- ARDOVA up +7.09% to close at N15.10
- FBNH up +6.98% to close at N11.50
NGX Top ASI losers
- NB down – 10.00% to close at N69.30
- UACN down – 9.87% to close at N10.50
- UPL down – 9.52% to close at N2.85
- ROYALEX down – 9.26% to close at N0.98
- LINKASSURE down – 6.67% to close at N0.56
Top 3 by Volume
- FLOURMILL – 21,482,214
- GTCO – 20,141,539
- FBNH – 17,962,152
Top 3 by Value
- AIRTEL – N2,342,737,852.80
- FLOURMILL – N746,773,047.05
- GTCO – N464,521,289.80
These gains seen in the last three trading session shows clear defiance of many analysts’ expectation of profit-taking as a result of worrying macro-economic conditions and an interest rate hike from the CBN.