The Nigerian equities market closed on a positive note, as the market capitalization of listed companies increased by N95 billion on Thursday, 20th July 2023.
The market closed slightly higher today, with a 0.27% increase in its value to N34,811 trillion.
This represented a minor decline of N95 billion from the previous session’s closing value of N34,716 trillion.
The Nigerian Stock Exchange posted a positive performance on Thursday, as the All-Share Index (ASI) advanced by 173.49 points (0.27%) to settle at 63,930.72 points, compared to its previous close of 63,757.23 points on Wednesday.
Market Indices
Below are the market indices for today’s trading session:
NGX ASI: 63,930.72 points
% Day Change: 0.27%
% YTD: +24.40%
Market Cap: N34,811 trillion
Volume Traded: 1.36 billion
Value: N18.07 billion
Deals: 7,179
How Stocks Performed
The equities market ended the day with mixed results, as UPL outperformed the other stocks with a 10% surge in its share price. COURTVILLE, on the other hand, recorded the highest loss of 9.86%. UBA was the most active stock, with the largest volume of shares exchanged at the end of the session.
The market experienced a modest decline in trading activity, with the total number of transactions falling from 7,403 in the previous session to 7,179 deals today.
Top Gainers and Top Losers
The market witnessed a remarkable performance from three listed companies today, namely UPL, EUNISELL and ACADEMY. UPL led the pack with a 10% surge in its share price, followed closely by EUNISELL and ACADEMY, which both registered nearly 10% gains, at 9.97% and 9.95% respectively. These companies outperformed the rest of the market with their stellar returns.
The market performance suffered a setback due to the drop in the share value of some major players. The worst performers were COURTVILLE, FTNCOCOA and ABBEYBDS which recorded losses of 9.86%, 9.66% and 9.49% respectively.
Top Traded Stocks
The market witnessed a surge in trading activity on Thursday, with the total value of shares traded rising to N18.07 billion, an N7.99 billion increase from the N10.08 billion recorded on Wednesday.
The market witnessed a remarkable surge in trading volume, attaining 1.36 billion shares. This represents a growth of 186.81%, from 473.49 million shares the previous day. This implied a variation of 884.51 million shares traded in the market.
The trading activity on the stock market today was dominated by UBA, STERLINGNG and FBNH, which had the highest volumes of shares among all equities. These stocks exchanged 961.50 million, 43.66 million, and 40.32 million units of shares, respectively.
UBA was the star performer in today’s market session, as it posted a turnover of N13.31 billion. FBNH followed with a distant second place, with a turnover of N720.05 million. STERLINGNG also showed some activity, with a turnover of N158.99 million.
SWOOTs Watch
The stock market today witnessed a positive performance, driven by the banking sector. UBA, GTCO, and ZENITH BANK were among the top gainers, as they reported earnings growth of 2.65%, 0.57% and 0.16% respectively. The investors reacted favourably to the strong financial results of these banks.
AIRTEL AFRICA, DANGOTE CEMENT, MTN NIGERIA, BUA CEMENT and BUA FOODS maintained their closing prices from yesterday, indicating a steady market performance for these companies. This implies that there were no significant shifts in their competitive advantages or investor confidence.
FUGAZ Update
The banking sector led the market rally, with all the major players posting gains in their stock values. UBA, FBNH, GTCO, ZENITH BANK, and ACCESS HOLDINGS saw their share prices rise by 2.65%, 0.84%, 0.57%, 0.16%, 0.6% respectively, outperforming the market average of 0.35%. The strong performance of the banks was attributed to their robust earnings, improved asset quality and attractive valuations.