The domestic stock market, on Wednesday, rebounded from previous losse with a gain of 0.32 per cent, due to increased buying interest in shares of Tier-one banks.
Strong demand for stocks like Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), Zenith Bank, United Bank of Africa (UBA), Access Corporation, Computer Warehouse Group (CWG), and Juli Plc, among others, propelled the market into positive territory.
The market capitalisation, which began the day at N58.775 trillion, rose by N188 billion or 0.32 per cent to close at N58.963 trillion.
Similarly, the All-Share index climbed by 0.32 per cent or 331.2 points to close at 104,283.64, compared to 103,952.47 recorded on Tuesday.
As a result, the Year-To-Date (YTD) return expanded to 39.47 per cent.
Mr Moses Igbrude, National Coordinator of the Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), attributed the market’s upward trajectory to the release of financial reports by listed companies.
He said that investors were capitalising on dividend announcements by various firms, overlooking the Central Bank of Nigeria’s decision to raise the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) to 24.75 per cent.
Igbrude noted that investors were focused on leveraging the positive financial results and dividend declarations by companies, overshadowing the impact of the CBN’s policy adjustment.
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the CBN, in its second meeting of the year, raised the monetary policy rate by 200 basis points to 24.75 per cent, while maintaining the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) and Liquidity ratio at 45 per cent and 30 per cent, respectively.
Igbrude predicted continued market uptrend, especially with the anticipation of positive financial results from more listed companies.
Market breadth ended positively, with 29 gainers and 20 losers. Computer Warehouse Group (CWG) led the gainers, closing at N7.15 with a gain of 65k, followed by Juli Plc, which gained 86k to close at N9.49 per share.
On the flip side, Northern Nigeria Flour Mill (NNFM) led the losers, shedding N5.35 to close at N48.30, followed by Prestige Assurance, which lost 6k to close at 56k per share.
Trade turnover increased compared to the previous session, with the value of transactions rising by 9.92 per cent.
A total of 499.71 billion shares valued worth N12.41 billion were traded in 10,260 deals, compared to 374.41 billion shares valued at N11.29 billion in 8,689 deals in the previous session.
Access Corporation led in volume with 83.60 million shares valued at N1.97 billion, while Zenith Bank followed with 53.20 billion shares worth N2.26 billion.
UBA traded 49.68 million shares worth N1.36 billion, GTCO exchanged 49.53 million shares worth N2.52 billion, and Transnational Corporation sold 48.08 million shares worth N646.53 million.
