Investors on the Nigerian Exchange Limited gained N643bn on Wednesday, as bullish sentiment returned to the market following a positive performance across major sectors.
The market capitalisation of listed equities rose from N91.61tn on Tuesday to N92.25tn at the close of trading on Wednesday. Similarly, the All-Share Index increased by 1,017.38 points, or 0.70 per cent, to close at 145,813.86 from 144,796.48 recorded in the previous session.
The year-to-date return of the NGX also improved to 41.67 per cent.
The rebound was driven largely by price appreciation in the shares of Guinness Nigeria Plc, NEM Insurance Plc, Meyer Plc, AXA Mansard Insurance Plc, Learn Africa Plc, and SCOA Nigeria Plc.
Guinness Nigeria Plc led the gainers’ chart with a 10 per cent increase in its share price to close at N128.75. It was followed by NEM Insurance Plc, which gained 10 per cent to close at N9.68. Meyer Plc rose by 10 per cent to close at N5.17, while AXA Mansard Insurance Plc appreciated by 10 per cent to end the day at N5.17. Learn Africa Plc and SCOA Nigeria Plc also gained 10 per cent each to close at N3.41 and N2.20, respectively.
On the losers’ side, UAC of Nigeria Plc topped the chart, declining by 10 per cent to close at N9.00. NGX Group Plc followed with a 9.99 per cent loss to close at N17.65. LivingTrust Mortgage Bank Plc dropped by 9.85 per cent to close at N2.75, while Multiverse Mining and Exploration Plc declined by 9.71 per cent to close at N15.75. RT Briscoe Nigeria Plc lost 9.62 per cent to settle at N0.47.
In terms of trading volume, a total of 1.17bn shares worth N30.18bn were exchanged in 11,942 deals, marking a 66.7 per cent increase in volume and a 32 per cent rise in value when compared to 702.5m units valued at N22.8bn traded on Monday.
Linkage Assurance Plc led in terms of volume with 562.5m shares traded. This was followed by Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc with 125.6m shares and Fidelity Bank Plc with 71.9m shares.
In terms of value, Zenith Bank Plc led the chart with trades worth N4.5bn. It was followed by GTCO Plc with N3.7bn and MTN Nigeria Communications Plc with N3.1bn.
All sector indices, except oil and gas, closed in the green. The Insurance Index recorded the highest gain, rising by 9.87 per cent. The Industrial Goods Index appreciated by 2.85 per cent, while the Banking and Consumer Goods indices gained 1.47 per cent and 0.85 per cent, respectively.
Market analysts attributed the rebound to increased investor interest in fundamentally sound stocks and bargain hunting by institutional and retail investors.
The PUNCH reported that the Nigerian Exchange Limited extended its bullish momentum on Tuesday as the All-Share Index rose by 0.5 per cent to close at 144,796.37 points, driven by price appreciation in key large-cap stocks.
