Stock market records marginal gain, Naira stable at 900/$

Nigeria’s equities investors are showing less interest in banking stocks as they continue to wait for the half-year scorecards of tier-1 lenders. The selling pressure on banking and oil & gas stocks has not allowed the market to advance remarkably lately.

For instance, at the close of trading on Wednesday, the market increased by just 0.01 percent or N2billion. The market’s year-to-date (YtD) return stood at +27.79 percent. This week, the market has risen by 1.19 percent, while this month it is up by 1.80 percent.

Naira stable at 900/$

Naira/dollar exchange rate is still stable at the parallel segment of Nigeria’s foreign exchange (FX) market.

FX dealers sold dollars to willing buyers at N900/$ while they bought from willing sellers at N890/$, according to data by AbokiFX, an online platform that tracks the exchange rate on the parallel market.

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The Nigerian Exchange Limited All-Share Index (ASI) and equities market capitalisation increased from the preceding day’s 65,488.67 points and N35.842 trillion respectively to 65,492.92 points and N35.844 trillion.

Transcorp Hotels led the top advancers league after rising from N36.70 to N40, up by N3.30 or 8.99 percent. It was followed by Transnational Corporation which rose from N4.48 to N4.80, after adding 32kobo or 7.14 percent.

Transcorp, Universal Insurance, Dangote Sugar, Fidelity Bank and CHI Plc were the most traded stocks on the Bourse.

Ikeja Hotel eyes additional capital

At the Annual General Meeting of Ikeja Hotel Plc held recently, it was approved that the Company should pay shareholders a dividend of 7.5kobo per ordinary share, amounting to N155.909 million.

The shareholders also approved the issue of a bonus issue of 1 (one) share for every 3 (three) shares held in the Company amounting to 692,932,133 units at 50kobo each at a total cost of N346.466million to members on the Register of Members as at July 4, 2023, to be set off from the Company’s retained earnings in the 2022 audited accounts of the Company.

Also approved was that additional capital be raised by the issuance of 1,133,888,945 units of unissued shares of the company as a rights issue at the rate to be determined by the board of directors to existing shareholders based on 6 (six) new ordinary shares for every 11 (eleven) ordinary shares held in the company to members on the register of members as at December 13, 2022, based on the 2022 audited accounts of the Company.