Equities market opens week bullish as investors earn N331bn

The equities market index climbed as sustained buying interest on major stocks caused investors’ combined wealth to increase by more than N331 billion.

At the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), equities trading opened activities on a positive note, continuing the upward momentum recorded last week.

Both the NGX Index and equities market capitalisation advanced by 0.55 percent, according to data from the local bourse.

The All-Share Index rose by 544.57 basis points to close at 99,922.63 basis points, while the equities market capitalisation of the Nigerian Exchange rose by N331.46 billion to close at N60.57 trillion.

The bullish performance was driven by heightened investor interest in some medium- and large-scale stocks. Notably, gains in Oando and Aradel, whose share prices appreciated by 5.9 percent and 9.1 percent respectively, contributed to the overall bullish trading session.

Accordingly, the Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date returns settled at +2.5 per cent and +33.6 per cent, respectively.

At the end of the trading session, the market breadth closed positive, recording 35 gainers and 14 losers. On the performance board, Royal Exchange and Living Trust topped the advancers’ chart with 10 per cent price appreciation each.

These performers were trailed by International Breweries which gained 9.90 percent, Guinea Insurance, Caverton Support Group, Austinlaz and Aradel, and 28 others.

On the laggard’s side, 25 stocks depreciated with University Press taking the lead with a price depreciation of 9.81 per cent.

Nevertheless, the market sector performance was negative, as three of the five major market sectors went south.

The insurance index dropped by 0.96 percent, followed by the banking sector, which nosedived by 0.06 percent, and the oil & gas sector lost 0.02 percent. The consumer goods and industrial sectors grew by 1.24 percent and 0.09 percent.

Reflecting the mood, equities market activities were up as the total volume and total value traded on the NGX platform grew by 36.13 percent and 58.75 percent, respectively.

Approximately 740.89 million units valued at N16,877.33 million were transacted across 10,430 deals.

In terms of volume, Sterling Financial Holdings led the activity chart, accounting for 26.61 percent of the total volume traded in the local bourse, followed by Wema Bank, eTranzact, Access Holdings, and United Bank for Africa.

Aradel Holdings emerged as the most traded stock in value terms, accounting for 49.77 percent of the total value of trades on the exchange.

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