Average year-to-date return for Nigerian equities rallied to 20.1 per cent on Monday as increased bargain-hunting for large-cap stocks added N641 billion in net capital gains.
With more than four advancers for every decliner, the benchmark index for the Nigerian equities market rose by 4.0 per cent yesterday, pushing the average year-to-date return to 20.1 per cent.
Aggregate market value of all quoted equities at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) jumped by N641 billion from its opening value of N16.207 trillion to close at N16.848 trillion.
The All Share Index (ASI)- the value-based common index that tracks all share prices at the NSE, appreciated by 4.0 per cent from its opening index of 31,016.17 points to close at 32,243.05 points.
The momentum of activities also improved with 27.7 per cent and 60.2 per cent increase in turnover volume and value respectively. Total turnover stood at 636.01 million shares valued at N8.24 billion in 7,210 deals. Zenith Bank was the most active stock with a turnover of 70.2 million shares worth N1.6 billion.
With 49 gainers to 11 losers, all sectoral indices closed positive, underlining the widespread positive sentiment running the market in recent months. The NSE Banking Index rose by 6.6 per cent. The NSE Industrial Goods Index appreciated by 5.5 per cent. The NSE Consumer Goods Index rallied by 1.8 per cent. The NSE Insurance Index rose by 1.6 per cent while the NSE Oil and Gas Index added 1.0 per cent.
“Following the significant appreciation recorded in today’s trade, we anticipate profit taking in the next trading session. Nonetheless, we expect market performance to be supported by earnings releases,” Afrinvest Securities stated.
Nigeria’s most capitalised stock, Dangote Cement, led the rally with a gain of N10.50 to close at a high of N185. Africa’s largest cement producer, Dangote Cement had reported pre-tax profit of N271.96 billion in the third quarter as cement sales rose by double-digit during the period.
Key extracts of the nine-month results of Dangote Cement for the period ended September 30, 2020 showed that gross revenue rose to N761.44 billion in third quarter 2020 as against N679.79 billion in third quarter 2019. Pan-Africa operations contributed N232.61 indicating a 9.1 percent increase over N213.20 billion in 2019.
Profit before tax rose from N197.68 billion to N271.96 billion while profit after tax jumped from N154.35 billion to N208.69 billion.With these, earnings per share closed third quarter 2020 at N12.25 compared with N9.10 recorded in the corresponding period of 2019.
The report showed a 6.6 per cent increase in group sales volume which rose from 18.02 million tonnes in 2019 to 19.21 million tonnes. Analysis of the results indicated that Nigerian operations accounted for 11.92 million tonnes, an increase of 10.2 per cent compared to 10.82 million tonnes in the corresponding period in 2019. Pan-Africa operations accounted for the balance of 7.47 million tonnes, an increase of 3.7 per cent over the same period in 2019.
MTN Nigeria Communications placed second on the gainers’ list with a gain of N6.10 to close at N150.10. Lafarge Africa rose by N1.95 to close at N21.45. BUA Cement appreciated by N1.90 to close at N44.90. Guaranty Trust Bank rose by N1.75 to close at N35.25 while Zenith Bank chalked up N1.65 to close at N23.95 per share.
On the negative side, Conoil led the losers with a drop of N1.20 to close at N17.85. NCR Nigeria followed with a loss of 20 kobo to close at N1.80. PZ Cussons Nigeria dropped by 15 kobo to close at N4.65. Learn Africa declined by 10 kobo to close at N1.05 while African Prudential lost 9.0 kobo to close at N6.11 per share.
– The Nation