Selective buying in a handful of stocks lifted the Nigerian Exchange Limited slightly on Monday, despite weaker trading activity, as market capitalisation rose by N3.45bn to N105.96tn.
NGX daily market report on Monday noted that at the close of the first trading day of the week, the All-Share Index inched up by 5.38 points, representing a marginal gain of about 0.003 per cent, to settle at 165,517.56 from 165,512.18 recorded on Friday.
The modest appreciation resulted in a year-to-date return of 6.36 per cent.
Trading activity, however, remained subdued. A total of 601.64 million shares, valued at N17.30bn, were traded in 58,419 deals.
This represented an 18 per cent decline in trading volume and a nine per cent drop in turnover compared with the previous trading session, although the number of deals increased by 33 per cent, indicating sustained market participation despite lower value trades.
Market breadth closed negative, with 36 equities declining against 35 gainers, underscoring the mixed nature of the session. A total of 132 listed equities participated in trading.
On the gainers’ chart, NPF Microfinance Bank topped the list, appreciating by 10 per cent to close at N5.61 per share. Morison Industries followed closely with a 9.97 per cent increase to N8.27, while Union Homes Real Estate Investment Trust rose by 9.95 per cent to N78.45.
Deep Capital Management and Trust advanced by 9.94 per cent to N7.85, while Zichis Agro-Allied Industries gained 9.92 per cent to close at N2.88. SCOA Nigeria also posted a strong performance, rising by 9.87 per cent to N26.15.
Conversely, May and Baker Nigeria led the losers, shedding 10 per cent to close at N39.15 per share. Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals declined by 9.81 per cent to N11.95, while Associated Bus Company fell by 9.33 per cent to N5.15. Computer Warehouse Group dropped by 9.05 per cent to N22.10, Sovereign Trust Insurance depreciated by 8.97 per cent to N3.45, and Daar Communications lost 8.50 per cent to close at N1.40.
In terms of activity, Chams recorded the highest trading volume with 41.6 million shares exchanged. It was followed by Access Holdings with 34.4 million shares, Guaranty Trust Holding Company with 31.6 million shares, and Zenith Bank with 26 million shares.
According to Arthur Steven Asset Management, Brent Crude was trading at $60.28 per barrel, WTI Crude at $57.68 per barrel, and the OPEC Basket at $59.61 per barrel, while Gold was valued at $4,426.65 per ounce on the international commodities market. Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the value of the U.S. dollar relative to a basket of foreign currencies, closed at 97.59 index points.
The PUNCH reported that the Nigerian equities market experienced a sharp pullback last week as investors engaged in profit-taking, causing the Nigerian Exchange Limited to lose N394bn in market capitalisation. Market activity slowed compared with the previous week as cautious sentiment gripped both retail and institutional investors.
