Capital market indices appreciate by 0.07 per cent

Transactions on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) opened on Monday on a positive trend as major equities recorded increases in their prices. The All-Share Index appreciated by 27.59 points or 0.07 per cent to close at 41,502, from the 41,474.40 achieved on Friday.

An analysis of the price movement chart showed that Forte Oil led the gainers’ chart by N21.91, to close at N235.79 per share. Nestle improved by N16.99 to close at N1, 089.99, while Seplat, which was listed on April 14, gained N12.05 to close at N671 per share. Nigerian Breweries rose by N4.91 to close at N181, while Total Oil chalked up N1.96 to close at N168.01 per share.

Consequently, the market capitalisation, which opened at N13.69 trillion, increased by N9 billion to close at N13.70 trillion. Conversely, Dangote Cement topped the losers’ chart by N5.50 to close at N229.50 per share. Guinness followed with a loss of N4.99 to close at N175, while MRS declined by N2.57 to close at N29.30 per share.

GTBank lost 62k to close at N29.30, while Zenith Bank gained 39k to close at N25.01 per share.

The financial services sector remained the investor’s delight as Access Bank emerged the most sought equity, accounting for 651.56 million shares, worth N65.123 million.

FBN Holdings came second on the activity chart with 994.16 million shares valued at N62.29 million, while ETI traded 646.19 million shares worth N35.79 million.

GTBank sold 947.64 million shares worth N32.38 million, while Zenith Bank traded 652.06 million shares valued at N25.79 million. In all, investors staked N11.54 billion on 418.49 million shares transacted in 6,063 deals, representing an increase of 37.66 per cent. This was against the 671.26 million shares worth N11.87 billion traded in 5,869 deals on Friday.