Nigerian stocks rebound 0.92% as Dangote Cement, First HoldCo gain 10%

The Nigerian stock market rose 0.92% on Friday, October 23, ending a two-day losing streak as the NGX All-Share Index climbed to 247,222.27 points from 244,956.94 points in the previous session.

The rally added about N1.47 trillion to market capitalisation and pushed the year-to-date return to 58.87%.

What lifted the market

Dangote Cement and First HoldCo led the recovery with gains of 10% each. Fidelity Bank advanced 9.09%. Wema Bank, CAP Plc, TIP and Dangote Sugar also recorded gains.

Dangote Cement rose from N1,010 to N1,111, gaining N101 or 10%. First HoldCo moved from N131 to N144.10, adding N13.10 or 10%.

Gainers and losers

Guinea Insurance climbed from N0.85 to N0.93, gaining N0.08 or 9.41%. Fidelity Bank increased from N22 to N24, adding N2 or 9.09%. FTN Cocoa Processors rose from N7.50 to N7.92, gaining N0.42 or 5.60%.

Market breadth stayed negative. 23 equities advanced against 25 decliners.

Livestock Feeds fell from N18.90 to N17.05, losing N1.85 or 9.79%. Tripple Gee declined from N3.09 to N2.82, shedding N0.27 or 8.74%. UPDC Real Estate Investment Trust dropped from N19.05 to N17.50, losing N1.55 or 8.14%. HBMNG fell from N379 to N350, shedding N29 or 7.65%. Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals declined from N7.60 to N7.10, losing N0.50 or 6.58%.

Trading activity

Trading volume rose 69.56% to 611.68 million shares valued at N23.14 billion across 33,585 deals.

Multitrex led by volume with about 246.79 million shares exchanged. Livestock Feeds followed with 46.84 million shares traded, valued at about N875.57 million. Lasaco Assurance recorded 23.82 million shares, while Sovereign Trust Insurance traded 21.54 million shares.

The Securities and Exchange Commission had approved the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE initial public offering. The regulator approved the offer of 4.1 billion ordinary shares at N525 each, a transaction that could raise roughly N2.15 trillion if fully subscribed. The SEC also registered the refinery's existing 120.13 billion ordinary shares.

The rebound came despite negative market breadth, meaning gains in heavyweights such as Dangote Cement and First HoldCo did most of the lifting. That matters for investors tracking the NGX year-to-date return, now at 58.87%.