By Yakubu LAAH InvestAdvocate
Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-Stocks on the Nigerian bourse Thursday closed higher for the second consecutive trading session, with the Nigerian Stock Exchange all-share index (NSE-ASI) climbing up 0.19 percent to close at 26,289.95 points (pts), corresponding to a market capitalisation of N9.05 trillion.
InvestmentOne Research says at the close of trading on the domestic bourse the equities market closed positive following the gains recorded in the shares of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Forte Oil Plc and Zenith Bank Plc; the trio closing higher by +53pts, +25pts and +14pts each, which offset the declines in the shares of Nestle Nigeria Plc, Guinness Nigeria Plc and Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc all losing by -23pts, -15pts and -14pts apiece.
According to the InvestmentOne Research, market breadth index closed positive at +0.06x as 24 stocks gained compared with 19 stocks that declined, according to data from the NSE.
Forte Oil Plc emerged the top gainer with a gain of N6.68 per share; while MRS Oil Nigeria Plc topped the losers list with a loss of N4.21.
Following the release of its half-year 2017 (H1 2017) results, which showed a N4.66 billion loss before tax, GUINNESS depreciated by 5.00 percent and closed in the red.
While the Consumer Goods sector closed down by 0.47 percent, all other major sectors ended in the green. The Banking sector (+1.18 percent) was the best performer while the Oil & Gas and Industrial sectors gained 0.58 percent and 0.01 percent respectively.
InvestmentOne reports that Investors exchanged a total of 146 million units of shares in 3,013 deals worth N1.19 billion at the close of the trading session, representing 23 percent and 51 percent declines in total volume and value respectively.
Insurer, AIICO Insurance Plc which gained 3.45 percent was the most actively traded stock with 30 million units of shares accounting for 20.6 percent of total volume.
“Despite the NSE-ASI gaining in the last two trading sessions, we expect the market to remain volatile due to the weak macro-environment and the lack of positive news flow to support the market. That said, we however advise investors to look beyond the current dim macro situation and build position in quality names for a medium to long term horizon,” the InvestmentOne report affirmed.
