NSE records 40mths-high, as market capitalisation crosses N14trn

TRADING on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) gains momentum as market indicators record 40 months high at the close of activities on Tuesday.

The Nigerian Bourse surpassed the 40,000 mark since 10th September 2014 with an All Share Index (ASI) close of 40,362.97 points, representing a daily change of 1.29 per cent, while the market capitalisation which hasn’t reached the N14 trillion feat since 8th August 2014 closed N14.04 trillion naira.

Market breadth, like in the past eight trading sessions, closed in favour of the gainers as 47 gainers trampled over seven losers with Dangote Cement leading equities to top performers’ chart in terms of market value of a unit of stock, having gained 10 per cent in unit price as a previous close of N14.7. UAC-PROP, on the other hand, topped the opposing chart followed closely by NAHCO.

Trade volume increased by 27.52 per cent as its previous level of 604 million shares closed at 770 million shares traded. Despite the increase in trade volume, the worth of the lesser amount of shares outweighed the day trading as a previously valued N16.17 billion dropped to N7.89 billion.

On sectoral performance indicators, NSE ASEM remained unchanged from the previous trading session, NSE Banking, NSE Insurance, NSE Oil&Gas and NSE Industry all recorded positive daily changes, while NSE Consumer Goods and NSE Lotus Islam shed points.

Analysts expected that market activities will, on an average, continue to soar, looking at the ongoing rally of the Nigerian equities market, which further posits the market as a profitable venture for both domestic and foreign investors.