Banks Dominate Trading As Investors Eye Higher Dividends

The Nigerian stock market has continued its rally, with banking stocks leading the way, contributing over N2.62bn during Tuesday’s trading session.

Market analysts stated that investors were showing renewed interest in banking equities as they hoped for higher dividends from banks.

A financial analyst, Ambrose Omorodion, suggested that the recent uptick in banking sector stocks might be driven more by expectations of higher dividend payouts than by the recapitalisation process.

According to him, the improved performance of banking stocks reflects investor anticipation of increased dividends this year, rather than changes resulting from recapitalisation.

“I do not think the recapitalisation process is the primary factor. I believe expectations of increased dividend payouts this year are driving the improvement in banking sector values,” Omorodion added.

Access Holdings Plc led trading in value terms with N1.06bn worth of its shares exchanged.

GTCO followed closely with a turnover of N599.34m, while FirstBank Holdings recorded N519.53m in trades.
Oando and Zenith Bank also contributed N446.83m and N438.11m, respectively.

Also, investors’ confidence continued to surge, as the market gained N272bn.

The market capitalisation and the All-Share Index rose by 0.49 per cent to close at N55.44bn and 96,510.13, respectively, bringing the year-to-date percentage to 29.57 per cent.

Investors traded 443.16 million shares valued at N5.64bn in 8,493 deals.

Tuesday’s session saw 120 equities traded, with 49 gainers and 14 losers.

Among the top gainers were TotalEnergies Marketing Nigeria, Julius Berger Nigeria, John Holt Plc, and Neimeth Pharmaceuticals, all closing with a 10 per cent increase each.

Conversely, the losers’ chart was led by University Press, which dipped by 9.58 per cent, followed by Cutix Plc and Vitafoam Nigeria, which dropped by 6.25 per cent and 5.17 per cent, respectively.

Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc recorded the highest trading volume with 83.1 million shares, followed by Access Holdings Plc with 56 million shares. Universal Insurance Company Plc and FBN Holdings also saw significant volumes of 29.1 million and 23.6 million shares, respectively.

It could be noted that the Nigerian Exchange started the week on a positive note, gaining N36bn on the back of appreciation by Eterna, Okomu Oil Palm, Oando and others.

The All-Share index and market capitalisation rose by 0.07 per cent to close at 96,037.28 and N55.2tn, respectively, as the year-to-date return improved to 28.35 per cent.