Lagos: The week began on a positive note, as renewed buying interest in the Nigerian stock market led to gains of N443 billion for investors.
Building on this positive start, the rally gained momentum as demand for stocks such as NGX Group, Trans-Nationwide Express, MC Nichols, VFD Group, CHAMS, and 27 others increased.
Consequently, market capitalisation climbed from N131.165 trillion at opening to N131.608 trillion by the session’s close. This translates to a gain of 0.34 per cent, or N443 billion.
Alongside this growth, there was an advance in the All-Share Index, which moved from 203,770.43 to 204,458.86—a rise of 688.43 points, or 0.34 per cent.
In turn, this strong performance led to an increase in the Year-to-Date return to 31.39 per cent while the market breadth closed positive with 32 gainers and 24 losers.
Specifically, NGX Group led the gainers’ chart, rising by 10 per cent to close at N153.45.
Trailing just behind, Trans-Nationwide Express rose 9.81 per cent to end the session at N4.14.
A strong rise was also seen in MC Nichols, up 9.74 per cent to N7.10 per share.
VFD Group finished at N11.30 after a 9.71 per cent gain, while CHAMS closed at N3.65 per share—an 8.96 per cent advance.
On the other hand, Berger Paints led the losers’ chart by declining 9.95 per cent to end at N68.35.
The Academy followed, down 9.71 per cent to N7.90. Caverton Offshore Support Group, meanwhile, dipped 5.98 per cent to N5.50 per share.
Honeywell Flour shed 4.92 per cent, settling at N20.30, while CAP closed at N96 per share after dipping 3.81 per cent.
Despite market gains, trading activity waned by the end of the session. Total volume—the number of shares traded—declined 14.33 per cent to 470.01 million shares, valued at N32.45 billion over 60,793 deals.
Looking at trading volume, Access Corporation topped the chart, trading 54.91 million shares, representing 11.68 per cent of the day’s total volume.
Additionally, for value, Aradel topped the chart with transactions worth N7.05 billion, accounting for 21.74 per cent of the total value of shares traded that day.
