The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited’s first-week trading session ended on a positive note on Tuesday, thanks to bargain-hunting in the industrial goods and financial services sectors.
The relatively low stock prices drew traders, who remained cautious due to inflationary pressures and the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) downgrade of Nigerian economic growth to 3.2 percent from 3.4 percent for 2022.
Yesterday, some investors decided it was worth the risk to re-enter the market, and the equity market gained 0.45% at the close of trading.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 214.49 points to 47,565.92 points, up from 47,351.43 points the day before, and market capitalisation increased by N117 billion to N25.908 trillion, up from N25.791 trillion the day before.
Despite Tuesday’s gains, investor sentiment remains low, as the market breadth finished negative, with 15 price losers and 12 price gainers.
May and Baker increased by 9.76% to N4.05, Ikeja Hotel increased by 9.73% to N1.24, BUA Cement increased by 8.65% to N56.50, Cornerstone Insurance increased by 8.00% to 54 Kobo, and Unity Bank increased by 7.32% to 44 Kobo.
On the flip side, University Press lost 8.54 per cent to trade at N1.50, Cadbury Nigeria fell by 6.94 per cent to N11.40, FTN Cocoa depreciated by 6.67 per cent to 28 Kobo, Caverton went down by 5.94 per cent to 95 Kobo, and Cutix decreased by 4.63 per cent to N2.06.
Industrial goods recorded the highest improvement yesterday as it grew by 3.18 per cent, while the banking space appreciated by 0.65 per cent, with the insurance sector rising by 0.24 per cent. However, the energy index declined by 2.41 per cent as the consumer goods counter shrank by 0.10 per cent due to sustained profit-taking.
During the session, investors traded 125.7 million shares worth N1.9 billion in 4,188 deals as against the 137.3 million shares worth N1.7 billion transacted last Friday in 3,845 deals, indicating a rise in the trading value by 11.09 per cent, growth of the number of deals by 8.92 per cent, and a decline in the trading volume by 8.47 per cent.
