Stock market opens week on promising note, bargain prospects

Nigeria’s stock market closed 0.47 percent lower on Monday, as investors continued taking profit from gains recorded in previous session, further strengthening opportunities for investors to buy at depressed equity prices.
The top indicators of the market, the NSE ASI and the market capitalization settled at 25,626.37 points and N8.867 trillion respectively compared to 25,746.52 points and N8.908 trillion respectively, following a loss of 120.15 points and N42 billion.

Activity level measured by volume and value closed mixed as investors traded 191.8 million units of shares in contrast to 108 million units in previous session, while value traded was down to N584.7 million when compared to N907 million traded previously.

The day’s top gainer was Fidelity Bank with a growth of 9.52 percent to close at 92 kobo per share, Total was next with a 4.11 percent growth to close at N270 per share. CI Leasing gained 3.57 percent to close at 58 kobo, United Capital increased by 2.43 percent to close at N2.95 while Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) appreciated 1.63 percent to close at N2.49 per share.

Oando recorded the highest share price decline of 4.75 percent to close the day at N5.62, Unity Bank was next on the losers table with a decrease of 4.69 percent to close at 61 kobo per share, while Transnational Express dropped 4.40 percent to close at 87 kobo per share.

Top three traded stocks for the day were Standard Trust Assurance (STACO), Dangote Sugar and First City Monument Bank (FCMB). They each traded 100 million, 14 million and 8.8 million units of shares respectively, valued at N50 million, N86.9 million and N10.2 million each.

Meanwhile following the visit of Africa’s largest investor, Alhaji Aliko Dangote to the Exchange on Monday, stockbrokers have opined that the market is expected to rebound in coming sessions.

Dangote, who is the immediate past president of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), on Monday, affirmed that he will list every company he creates under the Dangote group of companies, on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in a bid to further deepen the market.

Dangote has four companies listed on the NSE with a total market capitalisation of N2.9 trillion as at April 10, 2017, representing 32.7 percent of the market

He said “Our projection for the next few years is to have our AGM’s in stadiums, with two- three million shareholders.

We do not want the wealth to be centered on an individual, but we are concerned with creating prosperity for all Nigerians”