Transactions Remain Upbeat as NSE Indices Close Slightly Higher by 0.04%

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Nigerian Stocks closed slightly higher by 0.04 percent on Friday after an initial weakness on the trading floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) today.

The All-Share Index (ASI) garnered 14.75 points to settle at 33,261.66 points, while the market capitalisation raked N5.1 billion to close at N11.5 trillion.

The volume of shares transacted today by investors closed higher, though the value pointed south, finishing at 311.6 million shares and N3.3 billion respectively.

This was in contrast to 288.9 million units exchanged by investors yesterday in 3,631 deals worth N3.8 billion.

Just like on Thursday, financial stocks attracted investors on Friday with UBA trading 103.2 million shares for N924.1 million.

Diamond Bank transacted 44.8 million units at N57.4 million, while First Bank sold 36.9 million shares worth N224.6 million.

Niger Insurance traded 16.4 million shares valued at N8.2 million, while Zenith Bank exchanged 16.1 million shares worth N353.1 million.

Twenty-seven stocks appreciated in price today at the stock market compared with 15 that depreciated at the close of trading activities.

It was Forte Oil that emerged the highest gaining stock on Friday, adding N2.67k to its share price to close at N56.17k per share.

This was closely followed by Beta Glass, which advanced by N2.60k to finish at N54.77k per share, while Mobil rose by N1 to end at N260 per share.

Furthermore, Dangote Cement progressed by 89k to settle at N209 per share, while Cadbury moved up by 59k to wrap the day at N12.56k per share.

On the other end, Conoil was the biggest loser at the stock market today, recording N1.57k loss to finish at N29.98k per share.

Oando came second after dropping 80k of its share value to end at N7.55k per share, while GTBank shed 30k to close at N36.60k per share.

CAP declined by 26k to settle at N35.44k per share, while Flour Mills slumped by 25k to finish at N25 per share.

Stock market analysts informed Business Post that investors may kick off another round of bargain hunting at the market from next week as they eagerly await half year earnings of blue-chip firms.