Zenith Bank Plc has listed an additional 9.67bn ordinary shares on the Nigerian Exchange Limited, following the successful completion of its hybrid offer, which comprised a rights issue and a public offer.

This development comes as the Nigerian equity market opened the week on a bullish note, recording a N476.99bn gain in market capitalisation despite a marginal decline in the All-Share Index.

According to a market bulletin issued by the NGX on Monday, the additional shares resulted from the bank’s recently concluded capital-raising exercise. The rights issue involved 5.23bn ordinary shares of 50 kobo each, priced at N36.00 per share, and was fully subscribed.

Additionally, Zenith Bank’s public offer of 4.44bn ordinary shares at N36.50 per share recorded an oversubscription of 160.47 per cent.

With the listing of the new shares, the bank’s total issued and fully paid-up shares have increased from 31.40bn to 41.07bn ordinary shares of 50 kobo each. The additional listing is expected to boost liquidity in the bank’s stock and strengthen its capital base amid the ongoing banking sector recapitalisation.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian equity market maintained its bullish momentum, as market capitalisation surged to N66.07tn at the close of trading on Monday. However, the NGX All-Share Index dipped by 41.70 points, or 0.04 per cent to 105,891.33 points.

Investor sentiment remained strong, with trading volume increasing by 49 per cent to 567.29m shares, valued at N10.41bn, exchanged in 17,843 deals. The turnover rose by 13 per cent, while the number of deals surged by 39 per cent compared to the previous trading session on Friday.

Beta Glass Company, Stanbic IBTC Holdings, and Smart Products Nigeria led the gainers’ chart with a 10 per cent appreciation each, closing at N95.15, N68.20, and N0.22 per share, respectively. Honeywell Flour Mill also gained 9.98 per cent to close at N10.47 per share.

Conversely, International Energy Insurance led the losers’ chart, shedding 10 per cent to close at N2.25 per share. RT Briscoe declined by 9.63 per cent to N2.44, while Julius Berger Nigeria lost 8.44 per cent to settle at N128 per share.

Across sectoral indices, the Insurance Index posted the highest gain of 1.98 per cent, while the Consumer Goods Index and Oil & Gas Index advanced by 0.1 per cent and 0.09 per cent, respectively. The Industrial Index, however, remained under pressure, posting a year-to-date decline of 7.67 per cent.

The PUNCH reported that the Nigerian equity market closed last week on a bullish note, recording a gain of N884bn as the All-Share Index appreciated by 1.38 per cent to settle at 105,933.03 points.