The Nigerian equities market closed on a positive note during Thursday’s trading session as a late-session rally in the banking sector pushed the market capitalisation up by N370bn. The All-Share Index grew by 0.28 per cent, gaining 576.27 points to settle at 203,161.81 points, while the total market value of listed equities rose to N130.774tn.
This upturn was primarily driven by price appreciation in medium and large-cap stocks, most notably Nestle Nigeria, Aradel Holdings, Nigerian Exchange Group, Zenith Bank, and Lafarge Africa.
Despite the gains in the headline index, market breadth remained perfectly balanced with 30 advancers matched by 30 decliners. Trans-Nationwide Express emerged as the top performer of the day with a 9.94 per cent price surge to close at N3.43 per share, followed closely by International Energy Insurance, which gained 9.84 per cent to close at N3.46.
Guinea Insurance, Regency Alliance Insurance, and Wapic Insurance also featured prominently on the gainers’ list with respective appreciations of 9.52 per cent, 9.18 per cent, and 9.09 per cent.
On the flip side, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank led the laggards after shedding 10 per cent to close at N4.32 per share. Other significant decliners included R.T. Briscoe, which dropped by 9.94 per cent, and Tantalizers, which fell 9.55 per cent.
Livestock Feeds and VFD Group rounded out the losers’ chart with depreciations of 9.40 per cent and 8.85 per cent, respectively. Trading activity saw a noticeable pullback as total volume decreased by 35.17 per cent to 652.863 million units, valued at N39.820bn and exchanged in 51,101 deals.
The banking sector continued to dominate the activity chart, led by Access Holdings with a turnover of 121.702 million shares valued at N3.165bn. Guaranty Trust Holding Company followed with 62.274 million shares worth N8.096bn, while Chams Holding Company, Zenith Bank, and United Bank for Africa also recorded high transaction volumes.
Providing a forecast for the next session, analysts at Cowry Assets Management Limited noted that the market is expected to face mild headwinds on Friday as end-of-week profit-taking activities begin to weigh on investor sentiment.
