The Nigerian Exchange sustained its bullish momentum on Thursday as investors recorded a gain of N406bn, pushing the market capitalisation to N84.3tn.
At the close of trading, the All-Share Index rose by 642.54 points and 0.48 per cent to settle at 133,199.97. This performance represents a one-week gain of 2.24 per cent, a four-week gain of 9.85 per cent, and a year-to-date return of 29.41 per cent.
The positive outing was driven by investor interest in tickers such as Academy Press, FTN Cocoa Processors, Sovereign Trust Insurance, and Guinness Nigeria, which all recorded significant price appreciation.
In total, 818.39m shares valued at N22.67bn were exchanged in 22,955 deals. This marked a 20 per cent improvement in volume and a 33 per cent increase in turnover compared to the previous trading session, although the number of deals declined by 15 per cent.
Out of 129 listed equities that participated in trading, 46 recorded gains while 33 declined.
Academy Press led the gainers’ chart with a 10 per cent increase to close at N8.47 per share. FTN Cocoa Processors also gained 10 per cent to close at N6.60 per share, followed by Sovereign Trust Insurance with a 10 per cent gain to close at N1.43 per share. Guinness Nigeria appreciated by 9.97 per cent to close at N106.45 per share, while The Initiates Plc rose by 9.97 per cent to close at N14.67 per share. R.T. Briscoe Nigeria also gained 9.97 per cent to settle at N3.75 per share.
On the losers’ side, Union Dicon Salt led with a 10 per cent loss to close at N9.00 per share. John Holt fell by 10 per cent to close at N8.10 per share, while Associated Bus Company lost 10 per cent to close at N4.59 per share. Industrial and Medical Gases declined by 9.89 per cent to N38.25 per share, followed by Nigerian Satellite Communications with a 9.71 per cent drop to N0.93 per share. Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals also lost 8.59 per cent to close at N6.81 per share.
In terms of volume, Japaul Gold and Ventures recorded the highest volume with 83.8m shares traded, followed by United Bank for Africa with 73.1m shares, Access Holdings with 65m shares, and Consolidated Hallmark Holdings with 55.7m shares.
Sectoral performance was largely positive. The Insurance Index rose by 2.72 per cent, the Oil and Gas Index gained 1.32 per cent, the Banking Index advanced by 1.05 per cent, the Pension Index appreciated by 0.68 per cent, while the Main Board Index climbed 0.52 per cent.
The PUNCH reported that the Nigerian stock market extended its bullish trend on Tuesday, recording a gain of N396bn in market capitalisation amid renewed investor interest across key sectors.
