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MTNN, 15 stocks lift market capitalisation by N33 billion

THE capital market rebounded yesterday following two days of bearish trading, with market capitalization increasing by N33 billion, thanks to gains by MTN Nigeria and 15 other firms.

The all-share index (ASI) edged higher by 61.39 absolute points, or 0.13 percent, to settle at 46,904.48 points, while the whole market capitalization value increased to N25.279 trillion.

Price gains of large and medium capitalised stocks, including as MTNN, Eterna, Ardova, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), and Ikeja Hotel, drove the market higher.

GTI Securities Limited said: “The market recovered slightly yesterday after two days of losses. As Inflationary pressures persist, investors appear indecisive in their trading activities and might tend to tilt towards the fixed income market as yields rise. We expect to witness mixed sentiment in the coming trading days.”

Vetiva Dealing and Brokerage said; “Despite the slight recoveries seen in some of the sectors today, the market continues to trade bearish as sell-off activities outweigh demand, especially in the banking sector (NGXBNK down 593bps WTD). In tomorrow’s session, we expect the market to trade mixed with a chance of recovery in the banking sector given this week’s negative activity.”

Market sentiment was good as assessed by market breadth, with 16 equities rising and 15 falling.

Cornerstone Insurance and Ikeja Hotel had the largest price gains of 10% apiece, closing at 66 kobo and N1.32, respectively, while Eterna had a gain of 9.82 percent, closing at N5.48 kobo.

Meyer Plc and Chams both gained 9.09 percent to close at 60 kobo, while Meyer Plc gained 5% to close at 21 kobo.

Cadbury Nigeria, on the other hand, led the losers’ chart by 6.67 percent, closing at N8.40 kobo. Japaul Gold and Ventures down 5.88% to close at 32 kobo, while PZ Cussons Nigeria fell 5.36% to close at N10.60 kobo.

Wapic Insurance and Multiverse Mining and Exploration both lost 4.17 percent to settle at 46 kobo and 23 kobo, respectively, while the Royal Exchange fell 5.22 percent to N1.09.

However, overall volume traded fell 6.1 percent to 201.28 million units worth N2.62 billion, traded in 4,017 transactions. ETI shares were the most actively traded, with 61.89 million shares worth N742.03 million changing hands. Access Holdings came in second with 29.47 million shares worth N294.92 million, and Zenith Bank came in third with 15.836 million shares for N361.8 million.

Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) traded 9.84 million shares worth N9.81 million, while Fidelity Bank traded 11.373 million shares worth N35.64 million.

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