- Nigeria stocks’ cap hits N55.45trn on bulls’ dominance
Insiders’ dealings worth over N11.35 trillion were recorded on the shares of Zenith Bank Plc, Nigeria’s leading Tier-One lender in seven days.
Notices given to the Nigerian Exchange Limited concerning the transactions showed that the share mop-up began on September 6, 2024, and ended on September 17, 2024.
The stock’s market capitalisation surged to over N1.152 trillion as a result of the deals as shares outstanding stood at 31,396,493,786 on Wednesday, September 18, 2024.
Zenith Bank’s share price closed at N36.7 per unit on Wednesday, 18th September, 2024.
Zenith Staff Provident Fund, according to NGX Ltd, acquired 8,741,000 units of the bank’s shares on September 17, 2024, at N36.59 per share totaling N319, 833,190.
Also on September 13, 2024, 19,436,145 shares were bought at N37.58 per share valued at N730, 410,329.
On September 12, the fund acquired 9,454,220 shares in Zenith Bank at the rate of N37.13 in the stock market. The fund has bought 111,129,861 shares at the average rate of N27.73 per unit.
The staff provident fund also purchased 10,876,821 shares in the market at the average rate of N36.88 per unit, according to details from insider dealings on September 11.
The staff provident fund bought 137,959,088 shares in the market on September 9 at the average unit price of N37. On the same day, the fund acquired 19,511,000 shares at the average rate of N37.15 in the market.
On September 6, the provident fund purchased 16,803,986 shares in the market at the average rate of N37.59.
Meanwhile, Zenith Bank has started the process of raising N290 billion in fresh capital through rights issues and public offer, to bolster its expansion efforts.
The bank is issuing 5.23 billion shares at N36 each to existing shareholders and 2.77 billion shares at N36.50 each to the public.
Nigeria stocks’ cap hits N55.45trn on bulls’ dominance
The local stock market extended its bullish trend today, with the All-Share Index rising by 0.56 percent to close at 96,230.92 points, bringing the year-to-date return to a solid 31.37 percent.
Market capitalization also climbed 0.56 percent, ending at ₦55.45 trillion, which reflects a ₦313.3 billion gain in investors’ portfolios. By the close of trading, 28 stocks had advanced, while 26 had declined.
The top gainers driving the market’s positive performance included SFSREIT (+9.99%), HONYFLOUR (+9.96%), MEYER (+9.95%), ACADEMY (+9.89%), and CAVERTON (+9.68%). On the losing side, the biggest decliners were NNFM, BERGER, DEAPCAP, LIVESTOCK, and OMATEK, all of which saw drops in their share prices. Despite the overall bullish sentiment, sector performance was mixed.
The Banking, Oil & Gas, and Insurance sectors recorded gains of 1.06 percent, 0.35 percent, and 0.59 percent, respectively, while the Industrial Goods and Consumer Goods sectors experienced declines of 0.07 percent and 1.06 percent.
Trading activity was somewhat muted, with the number of deals, trading volume, and value falling by 20.21 percent, 23.34 percent, and 19.49 percent, respectively.
A total of 361.3 million units worth ₦7.57 billion changed hands across 9,627 deals. JAPAULGOLD emerged as the most traded stock by volume, while FBNH led in traded value and deals, with ₦840 million exchanged across 726 deals.
NIBOR rates increased across all tenors reflecting system Illiquidity.
Likewise, the Open Repo Rate and Overnight Lending Rate increased by 0.82 percent and 0.56 percent to 31.28 and 31.56, respectively. Nigerian Interbank Treasury Bills True Yield (NITTY) witnessed mixed movement across all maturities. The average secondary market yield on T-bills moderated by 0.01 percent to 18.18 percent.
In the secondary market for FGN Bonds, slightly positive market activity was observed reaching 18.83 percent. In Nigeria’s sovereign Eurobonds market, sell pressure at the short, mid and long ends of the yield curve led to a 0.07 percent increase in the average yield to 9.70 percent.
In the foreign exchange market, the Naira appreciated by 7.05 percent, closing at ₦1,539.65 per dollar at the official market. In the Parallel market, the Naira closed at ₦1,645 to the dollar.
