Equities market recoups losses as investors gain N694bn

The equities market rebounded on Thursday, adding N694 billion to investors’ portfolios.

The gain was driven by stocks like Berger Paints, Japaul Gold, Morison, PZ Cussons, Legend Internet and 26 other advancing stocks.

Specifically, the market capitalisation rose by 0.74 pr cent, increasing from N93.624 trillion to N94.318 trillion.

Similarly, the All-Share Index gained 0.74 per cent, closing at 147,950.59 points, up from Wednesday’s 146,862.01.

This increase made the Year-To-Date (YTD) rise by 43.74 per cent, with a positive market breadth of 31 gainers and 24 losers.

Berger Paints and Japaul Gold led the gainers’ chart by 9.88 per cent, closing at N40.05 and N2.78 per share respectively while Morison grew by 9.77 per cent, settling at N4.27 per share respectively.

Also, PZ Cussons rose by 9.36 per cent, finishing at N45 and Legend Internet increased by 8.91 per cent, closing at N5.50 per share.

On the other hand, John Holt led the losers’ chart by 9.26 per cent, ending the session at N4.90, Champion Breweries trailed by 7.86 per cent, settling at N12.90 and Eterna lost by 5.48 per cent, finishing at N30.20 per share.

Similarly, VFD Group dipped by 5.07 per cent, closing at N10.30 while The Initiates Plc fell by 4.80 per cent, settling at N11.90 per share.

Analysis of the market activity revealed an overall decline in value, volume and deals as 529.7 million shares worth N12.3 billion were exchanged in 18,159 transactions.

This is in contrast with 747.1 million shares valued at N12.4 billion that was traded across 19,161 deals.

Meanwhile, Access Corporation closed with the highest volume and value, with 156.32 million shares traded, valued at N3.16 billion.