Nigeria stock index rises on gains by banking, cement, FMCGs shares

Transactions on the Nigeria local bourse in the new month kicked off with marginal growth in it major index with the all-share-index up 0.14 percent, lifted by gains in cement, banking and FMCGs stocks.

The market capitalisation also rose 19 billion or 0.14 percent to close higher at 13.410 trillion naira on Monday compared with 13.391 trillion naira on Friday.
The All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 39.28 points or 0.14 percent to 27,565.09 compared with 27,525.81 posted on Friday.
The gains in the stocks of Nestle Nigeria, Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN), Unilever Nigeria, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Zenith Bank helped lift the market index up.
In spite of the marginal growth, analysts at Afrinvest Limited expected the bearish run in the equities market to resurface as the weak macro-economic environment continues to cast a shadow on investor sentiment.
Also, analysts at Imperial Assets Manager said “this week, we expect bargain hunting on stocks that have witnessed significant price depreciation in recent past to still be at fore.
“Overall, we expect developments in the fiscal space to weigh in on sentiments, as investors assess the direction of recent policy pronouncements.”
Market breadth closed positive with 22 stocks recorded gains against 14 losers.