Nigerian stock market gains N1.7trn in historic surge

By Taiye Olayemi

The equities market recorded a historic gain of N1.662 trillion on Tuesday at the close of trading, reflecting sustained bullish sentiment among investors with a total of 1.131 billion shares valued at N33.5 billion were traded across 49,216 transactions.

This was up from the 1.149 billion shares worth N19.2 billion that was exchanged in 59,359 deals on Monday.

This revealed a 75 per cent increase in the market value with 17 per cent decline in deals and 2 per cent drop in volume.

This marked the 22nd consecutive bullish session.

The performance underscored renewed investor confidence in the stock market, driven by increased demand for blue-chip stocks and sustained positive market momentum.

Market capitalisation rose by 1.59 per cent, closing at N106.182 trillion from the N104.520 trillion recorded at the previous session.

Similarly, the All-Share Index (ASI) appreciated by 1.59 per cent, gaining 2,592.64 points to close at 165,837.33, compared with 163,244.69 recorded in the preceding session.

This pushed the year-to-date return to 6.57 per cent.

Also, the market breadth closed positive, recording 56 gainers against 14 losers.

MTN Nigeria, PZ Cussons, Etranzact International, Caverton Offshore Support Group, Deap Capital Management led the gainers’ table by 10 per cent each, closing at N605, N58.30, N18.15, N7.70 and N3.63 per share respectively.

On the losers’ table, Universal Insurance led by 6.25 per cent, finishing at N1.20, Prestige Assurance trailed by 5.81 per cent, ending the session at N1.62 and Regency Alliance Insurance lost by 5.17 per cent, settling at N1.10 per share.

Similarly, Academy Press shed by 5.06 per cent, finishing at N7.50 while Royal Exchange dipped by 3.98 per cent, closing at N1.93 per share.

A total of 1.131 billion shares valued at N33.5 billion were traded across 49,216 transactions, compared with 1.149 billion shares worth N19.2 billion that was exchanged in 59,359 deals.

Meanwhile, Sovereign Trust Insurance recorded the highest volume of 344 million traded shares. (NAN)