December 12, (THEWILL) – Stocks bounced back on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Friday as the benchmark index ticked up by 0.47 percent. This was on the back of huge investors’ demand for financial services stocks. But the gain was too little to erase the loss the market recorded at the previous session. Driving the gain were Seplat, FBN Holdings, NGX Group, ETI, Zenith and GTCO.
Despite the climb, the volume of shares traded dropped by 6 percent while the total value of transactions fell by as much as 34 per cent.
Reports came Friday morning of the acquisition of further stake in FBN Holdings by billionaire mogul Femi Otedola, bringing its total interest in the group to 7.57 percent and consolidating his position as its biggest shareholder.
This newspaper learnt that a formal announcement will be made to that effect in the days ahead as FBN Corporate Communications Department did not confirm the deal. Shares in FBN Holdings jumped 2.59 per cent to N11.90 after the news broke.
The market breadth which measures investors’ sentiment towards trade, was positive as 24 gainers emerged compared to 12 laggards.
The all-share index rose 197.75 basis points to 41,882.97, while market capitalisation closed higher at N21.86 trillion.
About the Author
Sam Diala is a Bloomberg Certified Financial Journalist with over a decade of experience in reporting Business and Economy. He is Business Editor at THEWILL Newspaper, and believes that work, not wishes, creates wealth.
