Gains in BUA cement, others lift equities market by N43bn

Ending three consecutive sessions of loss, the equities market of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) yesterday staged a rebound as the market capitalisation gained N43 billion amid renewed bargain hunting.

In summary, the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) grew by 80.03 basis points or 0.16 per cent, to close at 49,709.46 basis points from 49,629.43 basis points it opened for trading, while the overall market capitalisation value gained N43 billion to close at N26.812 trillion from N26.768 trillion.

However, market breadth closed negative as 22 stocks lost relative to 10 gainers.

Cutix recorded the highest price gain of 7.50 per cent to close at N2.15 per share. Lasaco Assurance followed with a gain of 5.88 per cent to close at N1.08 and Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) went up 3.45 per cent to close at N6.00 per share.

Academy Press went up by 2.97 per cent to close at N2.08, while BUA Cement appreciated by 2.63 per cent to close at N54.60, per share.

On the other hand, UPDC Real Estate Investment Trust (UPDCREIT) led the losers’ chart by 9.86 per cent to close at N3.20 per share.  PZ Cussons Nigeria followed with a decline of 9.27 per cent to close at N9.30, while Courteville Business Solutions lost 8.93 per cent to close at 51 kobo per share.

Japaul Gold and Ventures declined by 8.11 per cent to close at 34 kobo, while Wapic Insurance shed 6.82 per cent to close at 41 kobo per share.

The total volume traded decreased by 3.2 per cent to 204.163 million units, valued at N1.640 billion, and exchanged in 3,643 deals. Transactions in the shares of FBN Holdings topped the activity chart with 36.833 million shares valued at N396.177 million. eTranzact International followed with 30.001 million shares worth N68.403 million, while United Bank for Africa (UBA) traded 20.528 million shares valued at N143.681 million.

Access Holdings traded 20.098 million shares valued at N171.497 million, while Eterna transacted 12.315 million shares worth N86.126 million.