By Yakubu LAAH InvestAdvocate
Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-The Nigerian equities market on Tuesday fired on, extending gains to the fourth session in a row, with the all-share index (ASI) rising by 0.98 percent to close at 26,071.16 points.
“Following today’s gain, the Month-to-Date (+3.05 percent) return improved while the Year-to-Date (+9.27 percent) loss dropped to single-digit,” according to Cordros daily market update.
Cordros said the session’s impressive performance was driven by a significant rally in oil and gas names, following a jump in crude oil prices to an 18-month high – supported by strong demand in Asia and supply cuts by Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Qatar as part of production curbs organised by OPEC and other exporters.
The report says the Oil & Gas index gained by 6.34 percent and recorded the most notable gain, followed by the Industrial Goods index which appreciated by 0.86 percent and Banking index which grew by 0.57 percent.
According to the update, some of the stocks in the spotlight were Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc, Forte Oil Plc and Oando Plc which gained 10.25 percent, 10.24 percent and 6.73 percent each.
Others are Dangote Cement Plc, Lafarge Cement Wapco Plc, Access Bank Plc and Guaranty Trust Bank Plc which climbed up 1.25 percent, 0.46 percent, 2.04 percent and 1.97 percent apiece.
On the flipside, the Consumer Goods and Insurance indices depreciated by 0.02 and 0.72 percent respectively and closed lower, as investors liquidated their positions in shares of softdrink maker SevenUp Bottling Company Plc, Unilever, Nigeria Plc, Axa Mansard Insurance Plc and Wapic Insurance Plc all declining by 0.77 percent, 0.04 percent, 4.68 percent and 1.96 percent each.
At the close of transactions on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), market breadth was positive, with 23 gainers and 14 losers recorded, according to data from the NSE. SEPLAT emerged the top gainer with a gain of N34.85; while Avon Crowncaps & Containers (Nig.) Plc topped the losers chart with a loss of 0.06 kobo per share.
In terms of turnover, total volume traded on the Nigerian equities market jumped by 247.11 percent to 376.70 million shares, valued at N2.41 billion and traded in 2,885 deals.
“We expect investors to remain upbeat in tomorrow’s session,” the Cordros update affirmed.
