The equities market rose by +0.70% due to late surge in index heavyweight, Dangcem (+2.16). A barrage of crosses in Zenith created some excitement as the market realised its first gain of the week. The banks – Guaranty (+2.79%) and FBNH (+3.45%) advanced as Diamond (+9.62%) continued its rally on news relating to its scheme of merger though Access (-5.52%) declined alongside UBA (-1.31%). Decline in consumers – NB (-3.40%) and Unilever (-2.76%) also trimmed some of the day’s gains.
Market turnover rose to N5.1bn ($13.97m) dominated by mixed interests’ block crosses in Zenith ($5.6m) alongside offshore Unilever ($1.1m) trades. Ytd loss on the index reduced to -19.40%. We expect the market to trade sideways in the next session.
