Equities on the Nigerian Stock Exchange rebounded strongly yesterday, led by gains in MTN Nigeria Communications and 30 other prominent stocks. Investors engaged in bargain hunting, lifting the market’s capitalisation by N694 billion. The All Share Index (ASI) closed at 147,950.59 points, marking a growth of 1,088.58 points, or 0.74%, signaling renewed confidence in the market.
Market capitalisation reached N94.319 trillion, buoyed by medium and large-cap stocks including Nigerian Breweries, PZ Cussons Nigeria, Berger Paints, and Eunisell Interlinked. Overall, 31 advancing stocks outnumbered 24 declining counters, showing a generally positive market sentiment across sectors.
Notable price gainers included Berger Paints and Japaul Gold & Ventures, each rising 9.88% to close at N40.05 and N2.78, respectively. Morison Industries followed closely with a 9.77% increase, while PZ Cussons Nigeria and Legend Internet climbed 9.36% and 8.91%, respectively. On the flip side, John Holt led the losers with a 9.26% drop, and Champion Breweries, Eterna, VFD Group, and The Initiates Plc (TIP) also recorded declines.
Sector-wise, the Insurance sector led the activity chart with a 2.99% gain, followed by Consumer Goods at 1.15%. Industrial Goods edged slightly up by 0.01%, while Banking and Oil & Gas slipped 0.35% and 0.03%, respectively. Commodity stocks closed flat, reflecting a mixed but generally optimistic market outlook.
Trading activity, however, slowed compared to the previous session. Total volume traded dropped 29.1% to 529.7 million shares worth N12.314 billion, across 18,159 deals. Access Holdings topped the activity chart with 156.32 million shares traded, followed by FCMB Group, Fidelity Bank, Japaul Gold & Ventures, and Zenith Bank, highlighting active investor interest in key blue-chip stocks.
source: The Guardian