Equity markets bounce back as benchmark index surges to 0.51%

On Tuesday, equities trading bounced back, recouping previous session losses, as the benchmark Index surged 0.51 percent to close at 67,217.77 basis points.

Notably, renewed investor interests in telco heavyweight, MTN Nigeria Communication, alongside Tier-1 banks, Zenith Bank and Guaranty Trust Holding Company pushed the broader index into positive terrain as these large-cap stocks appreciated by 0.20 percent, 0.90 percent and 2.27 percent, respectively.

As a result, the Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date returns increased to +1.3 percent and +31.2 percent, respectively.

As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was positive as 21 tickers gained relative to 13 losers. On the performance board, Flour Mills of Nigeria and University Press Limited topped the gainers’ list after their respective share prices increased by 9.9 percent and 9.8 percent, while VFD Group and ABC Transport recorded the most significant losses of the day after their share prices dipped by 10.0 percent and 9.9 percent, respectively.

Analysing by sectors, the Banking and Consumer Goods indices posted gains by 1.4 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively, while the Industrial Goods and Oil & Gas indices were unchanged. The Insurance index was the sole loser of the day having shed 0.5 percent.

Analysis of market activities showed trade turnover settled higher relative to the previous session, with the value of transactions up by 44.26 percent. A total of 319.90 million shares valued at N6.33 billion were exchanged in 6,272 deals.