Seplat Energy Plc has declared an interim dividend of US2.5cents per Ordinary Share of ₦0.50k which will be paid to shareholders whose names appear in the Shareholder Register as at the close of business on 30th May 2022. Meanwhile today at the stock market gains in bellwether stocks SEPLAT (+9.1%), MTNN (+0.9%), and ZENITH (+1.7%) bolstered performance on the local bourse as the NGX-ASI rose 0.5% to close at 48,837.76 points. Accordingly, YTD return advanced to 14.3% from 13.7% while market capitalisation gained ₦143.4bn to ₦26.3tn. Meanwhile, trading activity improved as volume and value traded rose 207.9% and 138.6% respectively to 759.6m units and ₦5.5bn.
Across sectors within our coverage, performance was bullish as all indices gained. The Oil & Gas and Insurance indices gained 5.2% and 1.1% respectively on the back of bargain hunting in SEPLAT (+9.1%), AIICO (+5.7%), and CHIPLC (+8.6%). Similarly, the Banking and Consumer Goods indices rose 0.9% and 0.7% respectively due to buying interest in ZENITH (+1.7%), UBN (+2.5%), GUINNESS (+5.1%), and DANGSUGAR (+2.7%). Price upticks in MTNN (+0.9%), CAP (+9.8), and MEYER (+6.8%) drove the AFR-ICT and Industrial Goods indices higher by 0.4% and 3bps respectively.
Investor sentiment, as measured by market breadth, strengthened to 0.28x from -0.07x recorded previously as 34 stocks gained, 17 lost and 61 were unchanged. In the final trading session of the week, it is expected that the bullish momentum would be sustained on the back of the improved investor sentiment.
