Seplat, others drive equity market to N376bn gain

Price appreciation of Seplat and other medium- and low-priced stocks boosted trading on the Nigerian Exchange Limited on Monday, resulting in a gain of about N376bn for investors.

Seplat was up by 9.99 per cent to N5,738.

With market sentiments in the greens, there were 32 gainers compared to 19 losers.

Other gainers were Daar Communications and Ikeja Hotel, which rose by 10 per cent to close at N0.66 and N7.70, respectively.

The All-Share Index and the market capitalisation rose by 0.63 per cent to 98,690.61 and N59.80tn.

The year-to-date gains of the market have risen to 31.99 per cent.

In a note to investors on Monday, asset management and investment banking firm Alpha Morgan Capital Limited said that the upward trajectory was due to the buying interest of investors in some mid- to high-capitalised stocks.

Analysts at Cowry Research had projected a positive trading week, saying, “Market sentiment is expected to remain positive as investors anticipate more Q3 earnings reports. The market has already reacted favourably to several impressive Q3 releases, providing insight into potential year-end performance.

Despite the ongoing market corrections and pullbacks, investors are advised to reposition their portfolios strategically, focusing on sectors and companies with strong growth and earnings prospects.”

At the close of trading, 405,022,661 units of shares valued at N27.57bn were exchanged in 8,281 deals, 12.87 per cent higher than the last trading session.

Leading the losers chart were Regency Assurance, which dipped 8.20 per cent to close at N0.56, Secure Electronic Technology saw its shares dip by 6.45 per cent to N0.58 and C & I Leasing, which listed additional shares last Tuesday, slid by 5.01 per cent to N3.60.

In terms of the highest volume of trades on the NGX, the United Bank for Africa led with 138,146,440 units of its share worth N3.60bn exchanged.