…as ASI inches closer to 80,000 points
…Royal Exchange, Fidelity Bank explore rights issue
Equity investors started 2024 on a superb note as the market capitalisation of listed stocks appreciated by as much as N2.68 trillion during the first week of trading in 2024. With January 1,2024 officially a public holiday, investors traded from Tuesday 2nd January to Friday 5th January 2024, with the bullish sentiment prominent all through the four trading days.
The market capitalisation of listed equities closed on Tuesday 2nd January 2024 at N41.58 trillion compared to N40.92 trillion on 29th December 2023, the last trading day of 2023, indicating that investors were richer at the close of business on that day by N665.98 billion.
On Wednesday, the market capitalisation of equities closed at N42.43 trillion, compared to the previous day’s value, putting the gain from trading at N846.37 billion.
The bullish sentiment moderated on Thursday as investors gained only N264.29 billion meaning that the market capitalisation of quoted equities closed at N42.69 trillion. On Friday, the market capitalisation of equities appreciated by N899.69 billion to N43.59 trillion.
Similar to the market sentiment exhibited above, the All-Share Index (ASI) closed last Friday at 79,664.66 points, as against 74,773.77 points on December 29, 2023, which was the last trading day of 2023. This showed that ASI gained 4,890.89 points in a matter of four days, a feat that rarely occurs except where there is a strong positive sentiment in the market.
Market return for the first week of the year stood at 6.5 percent, buoyed by strong positive sentiment. Some sectoral indices surpassed ASI. These include NGX Banking Index that returned 10.29 percent; NGX Pension Index, 9.70 percent; NGX Insurance Index, 14.08 percent; and NGX MERI Growth Index 12.85 percent.
“Eighty-eight (88) equities appreciated in price during the week, higher than sixty-five (65) equities in the previous week. Seventeen (17) equities depreciated in price lower than twenty-four (24) in the previous week, while fifty (50) equities remained unchanged, lower than sixty-six (66) recorded in the previous week,” NGX stated in its weekly market report.
Transcorp led the weekly gainers’ chart as its price rose from N8.66 per share to N12.66 per share, representing a gain of 46.19 percent. Ikeja Hotel gained N2.77 to close at N8.77 while Unity Bank gained 73 kobo to close the week at N2.35 per share.
A total of 391,760 units of Exchange Traded Products (ETP) was exchanged by investors worth N8.45 million in 140 deals.
In the bond market, traders exchanged 74,677 units worth N71.57 million in 32 deals.
Meanwhile, Royal Exchange Pls has emerged as the first company in 2024 to explore the market for funds. This is as the company floated rights issue of 4,116,296,059 ordinary shares at 50 kobo per share on the basis of four ordinary shares for every existing five ordinary shares.
The offer opened on 3 January 2024 and will close on 30 January 2024. Its registrar is CardinalStone Registrars.
Fidelity Bank has also applied to the Nigerian Exchange Group for the approval and listing of 3.2 billion ordinary shares through rights issue at N10 per share, on the basis of one new share for every ten existing ordinary shares. Qualification date is 5th January 2024.
