Lagos: The Nigerian stock market, one of Africa’s largest equity markets and a reflection of investor sentiment in the country, sustained its bullish momentum on Friday, closing the week on a positive note, with investors gaining N119 billion.
Appreciation in prices of stocks such as Eterna Plc, Premier Paints, Union Dicon Salt, Fortis Global Insurance, and John Holt, as well as 30 other equities, drove the uptrend.
The market capitalisation rose by 0.08 per cent, adding N119 billion to close at N126.436 trillion, compared with N126.317 trillion at the start of trading.
The All-Share Index (ASI) climbed by 161 points or 0.08 per cent to reach 196,968.15, up from 196,807.15 posted in the previous session.
The Year-To-Date (YTD) return improved to 26.58 per cent while the market breadth ended positive, with 35 gainers and 34 losers.
Eterna led the gainers’ chart by 10 per cent, settling at N42.35. Premier Paint trailed by 9.77 per cent, finishing at N14.60, while Union Dicon Salt increased by 9.70 per cent, ending the session at N16.40 per share.
Fortis Global Insurance added by 9.56 per cent, closing at N1.49, and John Holt rose by 9.25 per cent, finishing at N9.45 per share.
On the flip side, RT Briscoe led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent, ending the session at N12.06. Meanwhile, Mecure Industries, SCOA, and ABC Transport each declined by 9.96 per cent, closing at N61.50, N34.35, and N6.24 per share, respectively.
Berger Paints lost 9.93 per cent, ending at N66.65 per share.
On the day, market activity declined. Total volume traded dropped 7.55 per cent to 586.16 million shares, valued at N30.64 billion across 62,699 deals.
Of the day’s transactions, First Holding recorded the highest volume with 43.91 million shares traded, accounting for 7.49 per cent of the day’s total volume.
GTCO recorded the highest value at N4.62 billion, accounting for 15.09 per cent of the day’s traded value.
