The Nigerian equities market staged a rebound on Tuesday as the All-Share Index (ASI) of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) rose by 0.15 percent to close at 104,376.73 basis points.
The positive performance was driven largely by renewed buying interest in banking stocks, notably Zenith Bank, FBN Holdings, and United Bank for Africa (UBA), which recorded gains of 3.3 percent, 3.7 percent, and 2.6 percent, respectively.
This uptick added approximately N100 billion to investors’ wealth, pushing the overall market capitalisation to N65.59 trillion, also up by 0.15 percent. As a result, the Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date returns stood at -1.2 percent and +1.4 percent, respectively.
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However, despite the gains, market breadth closed negative with 42 stocks recording losses compared to 16 that advanced. Top performers included Secure Electronic Technology, Abbey Mortgage Bank, Sterling Financial Holdings, VFD Group, and Mutual Benefits Assurance. On the losers’ chart, Oando, Nigerian Aviation Handling Company, NEM Insurance, Lasaco Insurance, and Royal Exchange led the pack.
Sectoral performance was mixed. The Banking and Oil & Gas indices gained 1.89 percent and 0.04 percent, respectively. In contrast, the Insurance index fell by 4.07 percent, while Consumer Goods and Industrial Goods declined by 0.16 percent and 0.11 percent, respectively. The Commodity index remained unchanged.
Trading activity was relatively quiet, though marginally improved. The volume of trades rose by 0.15 percent, and the value increased by 3.71 percent, while the number of deals dipped by 7.41 percent. At the close of market, 460.57 million shares valued at N10.11 billion were traded in 14,528 transactions.
Access Holdings topped the activity chart by volume with 56.50 million shares, while Guaranty Trust Holding Company led by value with trades worth N3.43 billion.
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