Access Bank, UBA, others hit highs as equities sustain rally

Several stocks set new highs on Thursday as Nigerian equities continued their rally amidst increased investors’ appetite for bargain stocks across the sectors.

Two first-tier banks- United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Access Bank, the two leading agricultural stocks-Okomu Oil Palm and Presco, Seplat Petroleum Development Company and May & Baker Nigeria Plc spiraled to their highest prices in more than 12 months on Thursday.

With exactly three advancers to every decliner, the benchmark indices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) indicated an average gain of 0.77 per cent yesterday, equivalent to net capital gain of ₦87 billion. The average year-to-date return also improved to 22.56 per cent, providing equities investors with positive inflation-adjusted returns.

Several other stocks in the banking, industrial goods and consumer goods also continued to trade around their highest prices in spite of recurring profit-taking transactions that seek to convert and lock in capital appreciation.

Seplat, the highest gainer for the second consecutive trading session, recorded a gain of ₦39.13 to close at ₦425 per share, its highest price in more than a year. Seplat is riding on the back of the lifting of Force Majeure on Forcados export terminal, which is expected to boost production volumes, forward earnings and cash flow of Seplat. Okomu Oil Palm recorded the fourth highest gain of ₦2.88 to set a new 52-week high of ₦60.63. Presco followed with a gain of ₦2.83 to close at a new high of ₦59.53.

Also, May & Baker Nigeria continued to ride on its new domestic vaccine production partnership with the Federal Government, adding 23 kobo to close at a new high of ₦2.59. United Bank for Africa rose by 38 kobo to a new 52-week high of ₦8.84 while Access Bank consolidated its tier-one capitalisation with a gain of 70 kobo to close at a new 52-week high of ₦10.27.

Overall, aggregate market value of all quoted equities at the NSE rose from its opening value of ₦11.300 trillion to close at ₦11.387 trillion. The All Share Index (ASI), the benchmark index for quoted equities, appreciated to 32,937.98 points as against its opening index of 32,686.72 points.

There were 45 gainers to 15 losers. Sectoral indices showed widespread positive sentiment. The NSE Oil & Gas Index rose by 4.9 per cent. The NSE Banking Index appreciated by 3.0 per cent while NSE Consumer Goods Index rallied 1.3 per cent. On the negative side, the NSE Industrial Goods Index declined by 1.0 per cent while the NSE Insurance Index slipped by 0.2 per cent.

Other top gainers yesterday included Forte Oil, which rose by ₦5.41 to close at ₦58.33; Total Nigeria added ₦4.49 to close at ₦279.50, International Breweries rallied ₦2.71 to close at ₦29.24, UAC of Nigeria gathered ₦1.70 to close at ₦18.53, Nigerian Breweries chalked up ₦1.49 to close at ₦156.50 while Cadbury Nigeria rose by ₦1.31 to close at ₦14.22 per share.

Total turnover stood at 528.69 million shares valued at ₦4.84 billion in 5,603 deals. Banking stocks remained atop activities’ chart. Access Bank was the most active stock with a turnover of 81.82 million shares valued at ₦832.43 million. FBN Holdings followed with 71.42 million shares worth ₦471.73 million while United Bank for Africa placed third with 67.13 million shares worth ₦586.54 million.

On the downside, Dangote Cement recorded the highest loss of ₦3.97 to close at ₦205. Julius Berger Nigeria followed with a loss of ₦1.86 to close at N38. Guaranty Trust Bank dropped by 15 kobo to close at ₦33.55 while Lafarge Africa lost 11 kobo to close at ₦52.64 per share.

“While the equities market is expected to ride on the positive developments in the economy, we note that that the run of gains over the past weeks may have limited the upside for some stocks. Nonetheless, we still maintain the market may be set for a “year round bull run” following the improved flexibility in the administration of foreign exchange and anticipated strong second quarter earnings season,” Afrinvest Securities stated in a positive review of equities outlook.

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