Equities market maintains bulls as investors gain N305.6bn

Equities trading at the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) maintained a bullish stance on Wednesday as the benchmark Index ended 0.78 percent stronger, closing at 71,808.64 basis points. The positive performance was primarily driven by gains in MTN Nigeria Communication, Zenith Bank, and Guaranty Trust Holding Company, with these high-capitalized stocks appreciating by 0.25 percent, 3.44 percent, and 0.51 percent, respectively.

As a result of this bullish trade, equities investors gained a cumulative N305.61 billion, settling the market capitalization at N39.30 trillion. The Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date gains increased to 0.6 percent and 40.1 percent, respectively.

Market sentiment, measured by market breadth, was positive, with 34 tickers gaining relative to 21 losers. On the performance board, Thomas Wyatt and First Bank of Nigeria Holdings topped the gainers’ list, appreciating in share value by 9.9 percent each, while Mansard Insurance and Guinea Insurance recorded the highest losses of the day, with their respective share prices dipping by 0.7 percent.

Moving to the sectors, performance was somewhat bearish as three out of the five sub-sector gauges tracked closed in the red zone. NGX Insurance, NGX Consumer Goods, and NGX Industrial Goods indices suffered losses of 2.00 percent, 0.11 percent, and 0.02 percent, respectively, while the Oil/Gas sector had a lull performance. However, the Banking sector recorded a massive 5.01 percent gain, mostly attributed to the Tier 1 banks, which recorded the biggest volume and highest value for the day, contributing to the overall bullish market performance.

Trading activity remained robust, with total deals, volume, and value surging by 19.90 percent, 59.15 percent, and 8.88 percent to 8,412 deals, 690.01 million units, valued at N12.10 billion, respectively. Guaranty Trust Holding Company emerged as the most actively traded security in terms of volume and value, with 76.70 million units worth 3.04 billion exchanged in 260 deals.

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