Chinwendu Obienyi
Proceedings on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) ended Wednesday on a positive note as volume of transactions rose by 372.1 per cent in three consecutive sessions following rising demand for stocks.
This was as the All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 0.71 per cent to close at 21,073.26 points due to gains recorded in the shares of Wapco and Dangote sugar while market capitalisation increased by N77 billion to close at N10.982 trillion.
Thus, the market’s Month-to-date and Year-to-Date losses moderated to -1.8 per cent and -21.5 per cent, respectively.
Similarly, activity level on the bourse improved as volume and value traded rose by 1.1 and 5.1 per cent to 346.40 million units and N5.2 billion respectively, exchanged in 4,660 deals.
This means that transactions have now risen to 372.1 per cent after Monday’s recorded figure of 43.0 per cent. Reacting to the performance of the market yesterday, analysts at Afrinvest said they do not expect to see a sustained bullish run, noting that investors have continued to seek bargain hunting opportunities.n On price chart changes, investor’ sentiment grew as 25 equities appreciated in value, while 8 others depreciated. ETI was top on the gainers’ chart with 10 per cent to close at N4.40 per share, Ikeja Hotel followed with 10 per cent to close at 0.99 kobo, Wema Bank increased by 9.80 per cent to close at 0.56 kobo, Wapco garnered 9.77 per cent to close at N11.80 while Dangote sugar increased by 9.55 per cent to close at N9.75.
On the flipside, Union Diagnostics topped the losers’ chart with 10 per cent to close at 0.27 kobo per share. Sky Aviation was next with 10 per cent to close at N2.16, Ardova, formely Forte Oil dropped 9.64 per cent to close at N11.25, Glaxosmithkline declined by 9.38 per cent to close at N4.35 while Courtville fell by 9.09 per cent to close at 0.20 kobo.