The Nigerian Exchange extended its bullish run on Wednesday, gaining N187bn in market capitalisation, driven by increased trading activity and positive investor sentiment.
At the close of trading, the All-Share Index rose by 296.39 points, or 0.27 per cent, to close at 111,902.61 points. This reflects a one-week gain of 2.08 per cent, a four-week gain of 5.64 per cent, and a year-to-date gain of 8.72 per cent.
Similarly, the market capitalisation rose to N70.6 tn from N70.4 tn in the previous session, indicating a gain of N187 bn.
Market activity also witnessed significant improvements. A total of 512.17 million shares valued at N17.12bn were exchanged in 16,711 deals. This represents a 25 per cent increase in volume, a 73 per cent rise in turnover, and a 4 per cent improvement in the number of deals when compared to Tuesday’s session.
The market breadth was positive as 128 equities participated in trading, ending with 39 gainers and 28 losers.
University Press led the gainers’ chart with a 10 per cent increase to close at N5.61 per share. Learn Africa also gained 10 per cent to close at N4.51, followed by Northern Nigeria Flour Mills, which rose by 9.98 per cent to N130.55, and Honeywell Flour, which appreciated by 9.95 per cent to N21.
On the other hand, Academy Press led the losers with a 10 per cent decline to close at N4.05. Abbey Mortgage Bank dropped by 9.96 per cent to N6.87, while Skyway Aviation Handling lost 9.94 per cent to close at N59.80. Nigerian enamelware also fell by 9.88 per cent to N22.80.
In terms of volume, Japaul Gold recorded the highest number of traded shares with 58.9 million units, followed by Fidelity Bank with 48.2 million shares, Custodian & Allied Insurance with 37.5 million shares, and Guaranty Trust Holding Company with 29.5 million shares.
The sectoral performance showed mixed sentiments across indices. The Consumer Goods Index gained 0.96 per cent, the Insurance Index rose by 0.46 per cent, and the Oil & Gas Index appreciated by 0.24 per cent. The Premium Index and Pension Index were also up by 0.41 per cent and 0.25 per cent, respectively. However, the Insurance Index remained negative on a year-to-date basis with a decline of 4.07 per cent, while the Oil & Gas Index is down by 8.85 per cent.
The PUNCH reported that the Nigerian Exchange closed on a bullish note on Tuesday as the equities market capitalisation surged past the N70tn mark, following renewed investor interest in heavyweight stocks like Airtel Africa and key players in the insurance sector.
