The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) started the week on a bullish trajectory, gaining N279 billion in market capitalization on Monday. This growth saw the total market value rise from N74.55 trillion on Friday to N74.83 trillion, as the All-Share Index increased by 441.43 points to close at 118,579.65. The uptick was largely attributed to renewed investor interest in key stocks, signaling positive momentum in the equity market.
Key gainers included Presco Plc, Beta Glass, Champion Breweries, Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals, and FTN Cocoa Processors, all of which posted the maximum daily gain of 10 per cent. Their share prices closed at N1,210, N303.60, N9.02, N4.07, and N3.08, respectively. Legend Intercontinental also made notable gains, rising 9.97 per cent to close at N8.71.
On the downside, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc recorded the highest loss of the day, falling by 7.48 per cent to N117.50. Other laggards included Chams Holdings and Secure Electronic Technology, both dropping by 5 per cent, while Multiverse Mining & Exploration and Red Star Express also saw declines of 4.66 per cent and 3.85 per cent respectively.
Trading activity surged, with over 653 million shares valued at N21.33 billion traded across 22,206 deals—representing significant increases in volume, value, and deal count compared to the previous session. Fidelity Bank led trading by volume, followed by Zenith Bank, Nigerian Breweries, and FTN Cocoa.
Sectoral indices showed broad-based gains, with the Insurance Index rising 1.9 per cent, Consumer Goods up 0.73 per cent, Banking advancing 0.62 per cent, and Oil & Gas increasing by 0.43 per cent. These gains contributed to a one-week return of 2.88 per cent, a four-week gain of 8.17 per cent, and a strong year-to-date return of 15.21 per cent, despite ongoing macroeconomic challenges.
Source: Punch