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Investors’ wealth soars by N352 billion in three trading days

By Helen Oji
17 April 2020   |   4:12 am
The dominance of the bulls on the equities sector of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), strengthened by price gains from most blue chip stocks, caused investors' wealth to soar by N352 billion in three trading days.

Brokers on the floor of Nigerian Stock Exchange in Lagos.

The dominance of the bulls on the equities sector of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), strengthened by price gains from most blue chip stocks, caused investors’ wealth to soar by N352 billion in three trading days.

Specifically, the market capitalisation of listed equities appreciated by N352 billion or 2.99 per cent to close at N11.754 trillion on Thursday, from N11.402 trillion.at which it reopened for trading on Tuesday.
Also, the All Share Index (ASI) gained 674.89 points from 21,879.95 to 22,554.84 points.

Yesterday’s upturn was impacted by gains recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are; Nestle Nigeria, MTN Nigeria, Dangote Cement, Nigerian Breweries and Conoil Plc.

United Capital Plc in its report on ‘Covid-19 and Investments: Building a recession proof portfolio’ said: “In the current economic environment, it is important to maintain a medium to long-term perspective when investing.

“With stock prices at record lows, investing in fundamentally sound stocks with a demonstrated history of consistent revenue growth, cost efficiency, stable profit and consistent dividend payment is essential.”

It stated further that investing in sectors that are likely to benefit from the pandemic: Healthcare, Telecoms, Banking stocks due to liquidity and defensive stocks (Utilities, Consumer Essentials) can help returns on a portfolio, by creating significant upsides.

The firm added that the most important point is to maintain a diversified portfolio, spreading risk across diverse sectors and asset classes.

However, market breath closed negative, recording 18 gainers and 20 losers. Nestle Nigeria recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent, to close at N913.20, per share.

Nigerian Breweries followed with a gain 9.89 per cent to close at N29.45, while Conoil appreciated by 9.69 per cent to close at N15.85, per share.

Cornerstone Insurance went up by 9.26 per cent to close at 59 kobo, while Champion Breweries and Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals appreciated by 9.09 per cent each, to close at 96 kobo and 60 kobo, respectively.

On the other hand, Access Bank and Sterling Bank led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent each, to close at N6.30 and N1.35, respectively. Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) followed with a decline of 9.79 per cent to close at N2.12, per share.

Zenith Bank shed 9.75 per cent to close at N14.35, while John Holt depreciated by 8.93 per cent to close at 51 kobo, respectively.

The total volume traded increased by 16.13 per cent to 379.11 million shares, worth N4.327 billion, and traded in 5,985 deals.

Transactions in the shares of Zenith Bank topped the activity chart with 84.563 million shares valued at N1.25 billion.

FBN Holdings followed with 65.669 million shares worth N307.854 million, while EkoCorp Plc traded 58.001 million shares valued at N348.004 million.

United Bank for Africa (UBA) traded 29.173 million shares valued at N176.14 million, while Guaranty Trust Bank transacted 26.284 million shares worth N542.708 million.

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