The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) closed positively on the previous trading day, recording a 0.16% gain, driven by renewed investor interest in stocks like United Bank for Africa Plc (3.5% increase), Zenith Bank Plc (2.4% rise), and 28 other listed stocks. The NGX All-Share Index rose by 158.44 basis points, closing at 97,418.83 points. Year-to-date performance showed a 30.4% increase, although the Month-to-Date performance registered a slight decline of 0.2%. The overall market capitalization grew by N96 billion, reaching N59.031 trillion.
Sectoral performance was mixed, with the NGX Banking Index rising by 1.4%, and the NGX Consumer Goods Index appreciating by 0.4%. However, the NGX Insurance Index dropped by 0.6%, while the NGX Industrial Goods and NGX Oil & Gas indices remained unchanged. Market sentiment was positive, with 30 stocks gaining compared to 18 losers. International Energy Insurance led the gainers with a 10% rise, followed by John Holt, which gained 9.98%, and Eunisell Interlinked, which increased by 9.88%. Other notable gainers included Thomas Wyatt Nigeria and University Press.
Despite the positive market sentiment, the total volume of shares traded fell by 27.53% to 247.015 million units, valued at N7.511 billion across 8,305 deals. Access Holdings topped the activity chart with 40 million shares worth N979.586 million, followed by United Bank for Africa (UBA) with 23.739 million shares valued at N761.208 million. Fidelity Bank and United Capital also recorded significant trading volumes, while Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) rounded out the top performers in terms of trading volume.
