Investors gain N851bn in one day

Nigeria’s equities market witnessed one of the highest one-day gains in 2023 as investors consolidated on the recent market rally to gain N851bn.

The market went up on Monday by 2.48 per cent as the All-Share Index and equities capitalisation rose from 63,040.41 points and N34.326tn respectively to 64,603.69 points and N35.177tn.

The NGX ASI- the common value-based index that tracks all share prices at the exchange, which opened the trading year at 51,251.06 points (January 3, 2023) settled at 64,603.69 points at the close of trading on Monday (July 10, 2023). This represented a 26 per cent growth seen in just a few months.

The market’s performance was driven by continued demand in MTNN, Dangote Cement, Stanbic.

Across the market counters, the Industrial Goods (+5.13 per cent), Insurance (+4.18 per cent), Oil and Gas (+2.61 per cent), and Banking (+1.73 per cent) indices closed in the green while the Consumer Goods (-0.18 per cent) index declined.

Activity levels mirrored the market’s broad gauge as trading volume and value surged by 49.80 per cent and 59.11 per cent, to 1.84 billion units and N22.033bn which exchanged hands in 14,584 deals.

Speaking with The PUNCH, the Vice Chairman Of The Board at Highcap Securities Ltd, David Adonri, described the current bullish run at the market as dangerous given the inevitable dip that may follow anytime soon once investors started taking profits.

He said, “It is just a continuation of the rally which has transformed into a bull-run, driven by sentiments. There is no other sensitive information that we are aware of that is pushing the market. That is why the situation is becoming scary now.”

“At the end of the day, if it is a market that is driven by sentiments, when investors start taking profits, there will be a serious dip. There will be panic.”