The bulls dominated trading on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in May, with Neimeth Pharmaceuticals Plc, emerging the best performing stock in percentage terms, in spite of the coronavirus pandemic.
Data obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday from the NSE showed that Neimeth during the period rose by 83.33 per cent to close at N1.15 per share against 60k achieved in April.
Mr. Ambrose Omordion, the Chief Operating Officer, InvestData Ltd, attributed the stock’s rise to improvement in financial performance.
Omordion stated that expected impact of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) intervention funds for the healthcare sector due to COVID-19 contributed to the price rally.
He noted that investors increased their stake in the stock in anticipation that the intervention funds would boost market share and bottom line.
It was trailed by Unilever with a growth of 61.90 per cent to close at N17 against the opening price of N10.50 per share.
Other top gainers in percentage terms are Cutix, GSKSmithkline, NPF Microfinance Bank, Nigerian Breweries, Fidson, Ardova, Mobil Oil and RedStar.
Conversely, Nem Insurance and Courteville were the worst performing stocks in percentage terms through the period under review, dropping by 9.09 per cent each.
Nem Insurance dipped 9.09 per cent to close at N2 per share, while Courteville lost 9.09 per cent to close at 20k per cent.
Other top laggards’ are Lasaco Insurance, Seplat, Academy Press, Transnationwide, CAP, International Breweries and Union Bank of Nigeria.
Omordion linked Nem Insurance loss to profit-taking and price adjustment for a dividend of 15k per share within the period.
Meanwhile, the NSE All-Share Index for May appreciated by 2,246.81 points or 9.76 per cent to close at 25,267.82 compared with 23,021.01 achieved in April.
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Similarly, the market capitalisation which opened the month at N11.997 trillion rose by N1.17 trillion or 9.76 per cent to close at N13.168 trillion.
Omordion attributed the bullish sentiment to rise in crude oil price, strong accumulation move for dividend and low price of stocks.
The buying volume of total transactions for the month was 92 per cent, while selling position was eight per cent.
All the sectoral performance indices closed green with the NSE Industrial Goods driving the market during the period with 18.97 per cent growth.
It was followed by the exchange Pension which gained 16.10 per cent, reflecting the power of dividend-paying stocks.
This was also followed by the NSE Consumer Goods Index, which grew by 14.51 per cent, revealing investors’ interest in undervalued stocks with strong upside potentials, amidst their low Price-To-Earnings attraction in the sector.
The month’s traded volume, however, slipped by 0.53 per cent with a total of 5.65 billion shares from 5.68 billion units achieved in April.
On market expectations in June, Omordion said the outlook for the global economy and market remained unstable as coronavirus pandemic outbreak wreaked the world economy and deepened debt-to-GDP ratio of many nations.
He said: “There are also factors such as political uncertainties and low crude oil prices, in spite of the recovery which is being threatened by the ongoing cold war between US and China.
“With the gradual easing of the global lockdown, people are returning to the streets and factories reopening to give direction as technology industry operators take advantage of the scenario to launch new products and services.
“Back home, and with the intervention funds and stimulus packages of government and the CBN aimed at quickening economic recovery in the months and quarters ahead, we expect oil price rebound to be sustained.
“There is also need for effective use of borrowed funds by the government, to mitigate the impact and complement the CBN’s effort to boost productivity, create employment and trigger recovery”.
