Nigerian Stocks soar as Market records massive N618bn gain Friday

The Nigerian Stock Market closed the week on a positive note, with equities recording a combined gain of N618 billion on Friday, spurred by renewed investor appetite in medium- and large-capitalised stocks.

Stock Market capitalisation rose by 0.7 per cent, climbing to N89.960 trillion from N89.342 trillion the previous day. The All-Share Index (ASI) also advanced by 983.99 points, or 0.7 per cent, to settle at 142,133.03, compared with Thursday’s 141,149.04.

The session ended with 36 gainers against 23 losers, indicating a positive market breadth.

Top Gainers and Losers

Thomas Wyatt Nigeria led the gainers with a 10 per cent rise, closing at N3.30 per share. The Initiates and Eunisell Interlinked followed with gains of 9.98 per cent each, closing at N13.22 and N33.60 per share. FTN Cocoa Processors appreciated by 9.96 per cent to N5.96, while Omatek Ventures rose 8.57 per cent to finish at N1.14 per share.

On the flip side, Fidelity Bank topped the losers’ chart, sliding by 10 per cent to close at N18.45. Custodian Investment fell by 8.90 per cent to N44.00, while Cutix dropped 8.31 per cent to N3.20 per share. Daar Communications shed 7.02 per cent, closing at N1.06, and Union Dicon Salt slipped 5.26 per cent to N9.00 per share.

Market Activity

Despite the rally, activity levels declined in both value and volume, though the number of deals improved. Investors exchanged 518.7 million shares worth N18.05 billion across 22,350 deals, compared with 5.5 billion shares valued at N419.7 billion in 20,399 deals the previous session.

Abbey Mortgage Bank dominated trading by volume with 50.03 million shares worth N340.2 million. Zenith Bank followed, accounting for 38.97 million shares valued at N2.7 billion, while Stanbic IBTC recorded 38.95 million shares worth N4.2 billion. FCMB transacted 32.3 million shares valued at N347.8 million, and Sovereign Trust Insurance traded 27.3 million shares worth N84.1 million.