Nigerian Equities Market Rebounds as Investors Inject N279bn, Boosting Market Capitalisation

The Nigerian equities market staged a strong comeback on Thursday, reversing earlier losses with a N279 billion boost to market capitalisation. This positive shift, recorded at the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), reflects renewed investor confidence as traders returned to large- and mid-cap stocks, particularly in the banking and oil and gas sectors.

At the close of trading, the market capitalisation rose to N89.4 trillion, up from N89.1 trillion in the previous session. The All-Share Index also advanced by 432.94 points, or 0.31 per cent, to settle at 141,149.04 points. Analysts attributed the rebound to bargain-hunting and investor positioning ahead of expected third-quarter earnings releases.

Trading activity surged with 781.7 million shares valued at N19.5 billion exchanged across 20,382 deals. This represented a 77 per cent jump in trading volume and a 15 per cent increase in turnover compared to the previous day, though the number of deals fell by 6 per cent. Market watchers say this reflects a shift toward higher-value transactions in fewer trades.

On the gainers’ chart, MeCure Industries led with a 9.89 per cent rise to close at N26.10 per share, followed by Oando, which appreciated 9.5 per cent to N49.00 per share. Other notable risers included McNichols at 9.31 per cent and Chams at 9.24 per cent. Conversely, Eterna topped the losers’ chart with a 10 per cent drop to N27.90 per share, while Sovereign Trust Insurance, The Initiates, and Caverton Offshore Support Group also recorded losses.

The day’s most active stock was Consolidated Hallmark Holdings, trading 333.2 million units worth N1.25 billion, followed by Sterling Bank with 104.9 million shares. In terms of value, MTN Nigeria led transactions with N5.01 billion from 12.1 million shares. Sector indices also closed higher, with the Banking Index up 1.02 per cent, the Oil and Gas Index up 0.74 per cent, and the Consumer Goods Index gaining 0.31 per cent. Overall, the NGX has returned 37.14 per cent year-to-date, underscoring the market’s resilience despite a recent one-week loss of 0.78 per cent.

source: punch