THE NATION THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 2014
62
EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 8-1-14
Stock market in precarious balance as Dancem overshadows decline
F
OR the second consecutive trading session, most price changes at the Nigerian stock market ended in the negative but considerable gain by Dangote Cement (Dancem) Plc continued to mask the widespread decline and sustain the positive overall market position. With more than two losers to every gainer yesterday, the 2.13 per cent increase in market value of Dancem was the main stopper against major relapse at the stock market as investors continued to scramble for profits on several stocks that had headlined the exciting bullish rally in 2013. Nigerian equities closed 2013 with a full-year return of 47.19 per cent, equivalent to capital gains of N4.25 trillion, its highest in six years. Several stocks have since been under sell pressures as investors increasingly sought to lock in profit and realigned their portfolios. Many investors were also concerned by the fundamental supports for some prices in the face of declining earning and prospective dividend yields. However, most analysts are still finalizing their outlooks
Taofik Salako Capital Market Editor
and investment recommendations for the 2014 business year. The waiting period usually tilts towards cautious and less bullish transactions and increased propensity for profit-taking. While 39 stocks suffered price depreciation yesterday at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Dancem led 16 other stocks to overshadow the bears and support the market position with a modest daily gain of 0.06 per cent. This nudged the average year-to-date return for 2014 to 1.21 per cent and pushed main market indices to their highest points. Aggregate market value of all equities increased marginally from N13.379 trillion to N13.387 trillion. The All Share Index (ASI), the common value-based index that tracks all equities on the NSE, inched up to 41,806.73 points as against its opening index of 41,830.89 points. Dangote Cement, the most capitalised stock which controls more than a quarter of the NSE’s capitalization, recorded a gain of N5 to close at N240. Presco Plc followed with a gain of N1.50 to close
at N39. Flour Mills of Nigeria added 98 kobo to close at N88.04. Union Dicon Salt rose by 35 kobo to close at N13. Okomu Oil Palm gathered 33 kobo to close at N43.99. IHS chalked up 12 kobo to close at N2.90. Skye Bank gained 10 kobo to close at N4.35 while Nigerian Breweries rose by 10 kobo to close at N167.60 per share. Conoil topped the losers’ list with a drop of N5.37 to close at N49.98. Mobil Oil Nigeria followed with a drop of N3.98 to close at N111.72. UAC of Nigeria lost N3.35 to close at N67. Guinness Nigeria declined by N2.48 to close at N235.60. PZ Cussons Nigeria dipped by 85 kobo to N37.05. Zenith Bank lost 68 kobo to close at N22.70. UACN Property Development Company dropped by 52 kobo to N20. FBN Holdings lost 50 kobo to close at N15.60. United Bank for Africa (UBA) declined by 30 kobo to N8.55 while Guaranty Trust Bank lost 25 kobo to close at N28.15 per share. Turnover level was below recent average with the exchange of 361.31 million shares valued at N3.84 billion in 6,412 deals. Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) was the most active stock with a turnover of 34.12 million shares valued at N136.92 million in 333 deals. Financial services sector was the most active with a turnover of 241.02 million shares worth N2.42 billion in 3,129 deals.
NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 8-1-14