The Nigerian equities market closed on a positive note on Monday, as investors gained N3.169 trillion.
The market’s positive performance was driven by renewed buying interest in banking and insurance stocks, while industrial, consumer goods and energy stocks also contributed significantly to the rally.
Market capitalisation advanced by N3.169 trillion, rising from N147.102 trillion to N150.271 trillion, representing a 2.15 per cent increase.
Similarly, the All-Share Index rose by 4,937.91 points, or 2.15 per cent, to close at 234,178.25, up from 229,240.34 recorded in the previous session.
As a result, the market’s Year-to-Date (YTD) return strengthened to 50.49 per cent, while market breadth closed positively with 54 gainers and 12 losers.
Firstholdco and Wema Bank led the gainers’ chart by 10 per cent each, settling at N60.50, N29.70 per share respectively.
Aradel trialed by 9.99 per cent, finishing at N1,403.30, NGX Group grew by 9.96 per cent, closing at N129.75 and Veritas Kapital Assurance increased by 9.92 per cent, ending the session at N1.44 per share.
Conversely, Vitafoam and Nigerian Aviation Handling Company led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent each, closing at N170.10 and N133.65 per share respectively.
CAP declined by 9.99 per cent, finishing at N157.60, Fortis Global Insurance dropped by 9.94 per cent, settling at N2.90 while Thomas Wyatt Nigeria dipped by 9.45 per cent, closing at N2.49 per share.
Analysis of the market activity revealed an overall increase in the market volume, value and deals as 538.6 million shares worth N38.7 billion was traded in 64,065 transactions.
This is in contrast with 454.9 million shares valued at N27.6 billion that was exchanged across 48,214 deals earlier, in the previous session.
Zenith Bank maintained its position as the most actively traded stock by both volume and value, with 89.46 million shares exchanged, representing 16.61 per cent of the total volume traded.
The stock also recorded the highest transaction value at N9.77 billion, accounting for 25.24 per cent of the day’s total turnover.
