Nigerian Stock Market soars by N795bn on GTCO’s bold listing

By Rukayat Adeyemi

The Nigerian stock market kicked off the week with a bullish performance, adding N795 billion to investors’ portfolios, buoyed by the listing of 4.706 billion ordinary shares of Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO) at N44.50 per share.

Consequently, the stock market capitalisation surged from N63.645 trillion to N64.440 trillion, while the All-Share Index rose by 0.79 per cent to close at 104,418.95, up from 103,598.46 recorded on Friday. This drove the Year-To-Date (YTD) return to 1.45 per cent.

Gainers and Losers
Market breadth closed positive, with 39 gainers against 30 losers. Leading the gainers’ chart was Beta Glass, which appreciated by 9.98 per cent to close at N65 per share. RT Briscoe followed with a 9.92 per cent gain to close at N2.77, while Access Corporation added 9.88 per cent to close at N27.80. Chellarams Plc rose by 9.83 per cent to close at N4.47, and Sky Aviation gained 9.80 per cent, closing at N35.40 per share.

On the flip side, MRS led the losers’ chart, dropping by 10 per cent to close at N180.90. Transcorp Hotel followed with a 9.97 per cent decline to N114.65, while Eunisell fell by 9.95 per cent to N11.40. John Holt dropped by 9.64 per cent to N7.50, and Caverton decreased by 9.40 per cent to N2.12 per share.

Trading Activity
Trading on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) was robust, with the value of transactions surging by 54.72 per cent. Investors exchanged 518.28 million shares in 17,196 deals worth N13.3 billion, compared to 569.63 million shares traded in 11,282 deals valued at N8.6 billion in the previous session.

Access Corporation led the volume chart with 51 million shares traded across 1,053 deals, while Zenith Bank topped the value chart with transactions worth N1.7 billion.

Analysts’ Outlook
Analysts at Cowry Asset Management Ltd. predicted that the current positive market sentiment would persist, supported by the release of corporate earnings and anticipated corporate actions.

According to the analysts, the encouraging financial results published so far have created a foundation for sustained price support and are attracting fresh capital inflows into the market.

“Additionally, the prevailing low valuation of many stocks presents opportunities for investors to buy into value and strategically reposition their portfolios,” they said.

However, they cautioned that market volatility could arise as the earnings season progresses, influenced by mixed macroeconomic data and upcoming economic events, particularly for companies with December year-end financials. (NAN)