Equities on the Nigerian Exchange opened the week on a positive note as investors recorded a N60bn gain at the close of trading on Monday, reversing losses from the previous week.

The benchmark NGX All-Share Index inched up by 94.27 points, or 0.07 per cent, to close at 144,722.47, pushing the market capitalisation higher to N91.6tn from N91.54tn on Friday. This represents a one-week loss of 0.79 per cent, a four-week gain of 9.78 per cent, and an overall year-to-date gain of 40.61 per cent.

Trading activity showed that a total of 1.05 billion shares valued at N15.05bn were exchanged in 38,137 deals. This reflected a 24 per cent decline in volume when compared with the previous session, alongside an eight per cent improvement in turnover and a 19 per cent improvement in deals.

Market breadth closed positive with 43 gainers against 27 losers. UPDC led the top gainers with a 10 per cent appreciation to close at N7.15 per share. It was followed by Aiico Insurance, which gained 10 per cent to settle at N4.18; Cornerstone Insurance, which rose by 9.99 per cent to N7.60; and Deep Capital Management & Trust, which advanced 9.94 per cent to N1.77.

On the flip side, Stanbic IBTC Holdings topped the losers’ chart after its share price declined 9.99 per cent to close at N100.00 per share. PZ Cussons shed 7.89 per cent to N35.00, NEM Insurance fell 7.85 per cent to N29.95, while Chams dropped 5.26 per cent to N2.70.

The insurance sector drove much of the day’s performance, with the NGX Insurance Index rising 5.26 per cent, contributing to a year-to-date gain of 98.41 per cent. Other sectoral indices showed mixed results, with the NGX Consumer Goods Index up 1.15 per cent, while the NGX Top 30 Index dipped 0.14 per cent and the NGX Premium Index lost 0.19 per cent.

Universal Insurance Company emerged as the most actively traded stock with 202.2 million shares, followed by Linkage Assurance with 77.9 million, Lasaco Assurance with 66.4 million, and Mutual Benefits Assurance with 57.8 million shares. In terms of value, GTCO led with N1.05bn, trailed by Zenith Bank with N987.76m, Aradel Holdings with N945.58m, AccessCorp with N829.71m, and UBA with N779.15m.

Last week, the Nigerian Exchange Limited witnessed a slowdown in trading activity as investors appeared to take profits following weeks of bullish performance, resulting in a market capitalisation drop of N713bn. The All-Share Index fell 0.77 per cent to close at 144,628.20, signalling a temporary halt to the market’s rapid upward trajectory.