Nigeria's Dangote Cement climbs

Workers walk past a pile of limestone at the Dangote Cement mine in Obajana village in Nigeria's central state of Kogi in this file photo.

Lagos - Nigeria's biggest listed firm Dangote Cement briefly rose 2.38 percent to 215 naira ($1.34) on Tuesday, but gains were quickly reversed to close flat at 210 naira, Reuters data showed.

The volatile spike in price occurred a day after its main shareholder sold a 1.5 percent stake in it to South Africa's pension fund PIC for discounted price of 179 naira per share.

The cement firm, which accounts for around a third of Nigeria's stock market and is majority owned by Africa's richest man Aliko Dangote, helped lift the index 1 percent to a new support level above 40,000 points by 14:55 SA time.

The index fell back to close just 0.69 percent up on the day at 40012 points, Reuters data showed.

One trader said PIC's acquisition had lent support to the firm in early trade, but that later the market fell away as the euphoria surrounding the deal subsided. - Reuters