Okomu, Oando drive equity market to N36bn gain

The Nigerian Exchange started the week on a positive note, gaining N36bn on the back of appreciation by Eterna, Okomu Oil Palm, Oando and others.

The All-Share index and market capitalisation rose by 0.07 per cent to close at 96,037.28 and N55.2tn, respectively, as the year-to-date return improved to 28.35 per cent.

A total of 122 listed equities participated in trading, with 28 gainers and 18 losers.

Eterna led the gainers chart with a 10 per cent appreciation to close at N23.10, followed closely by Okomu Oil Palm, which gained 9.99 per cent to close at N 379.80, RT Briscoe gained 9.96 per cent to close at N2.98, and Oando surged by 9.93 per cent to close at N52.6.

Meanwhile, Transcorp Power recorded the biggest decline with a 9.99 per cent drop, closing at N335.20.

Abbey Mortgage Bank also lost 9.69 per cent to close at N2.33, while United Capital and University Press dipped by 8.35 per cent and 5.51 per cent, to close at N18.1 and N2.40, respectively.

The equity market recorded a turnover of N3.88bn, as 390.51 million shares were exchanged in 9,242 deals.

Despite a 16 per cent decline in turnover compared to the previous trading day, there was a 19 per cent improvement in volume and a 26 per cent rise in the number of deals.

In terms of volume, Veritas Kapital Assurance led with 67.3 million shares traded, followed by Japaul Gold and Ventures (23.9 million), FCMB Group (20.5 million), and Prestige Assurance Company (20.2 million).

The Nigerian equity market suffered an N815bn loss last week, driven by bearish trading activities on Monday and Thursday.

The NGX All-Share Index dipped 1.16 per cent and market capitalisation was down 0.004 per cent, closing the week at 95,973.45 points and N55.13tn, respectively.

Last week, investors traded 5.64 billion shares worth N33.05bn in 42,006 deals, compared to the previous week’s transaction of 2.03 billion shares valued at N42.155bn in 45,157 deals.