Investors gain N228bn as equities market sustains rally

The Nigerian equities market opened the week on Monday, sustaining its upward trend as investors recorded a gain of N228 billion.

Sustained interest in Sunu Assurances, Nascon Allied Industries, Omatek Ventures, Thomas Wyatt and Critical Minerals Financing Corp as well as 34 other advancing stocks boosted market performance.

Specifically, the Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX) market capitalisation, which opened at N162.157 trillion, appreciated by N228 billion or 0.14 per cent to close at N162.385 trillion.

Similarly, the All-Share Index added 0.14 per cent or 352.24 points to close at 250,156.80, compared with 249,804.56 recorded on Friday.

This led to the market’s year-to-date (YTD) return rising to 60.76 per cent.

The market breadth also closed positive with 39 gainers and 26 losers.

Nascon Allied Industries, Sunu Assurances, Thomas Wyatt Nigeria, Critical Minerals Financing Corp and Omatek Ventures led the gainers’ chart by 10 per cent each, settling at N176, N3.08, N2.53, N2.24 and N1.32 per share respectively.

Conversely, Okomu Oil led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent, closing at N1,276.20, Custodian Investment followed by 9.13 per cent, finishing at N68.15 while Sovereign Trust Insurance dipped by 8.64 per cent, ending the session at N2.01 per share.

Also, Haldane McCall fell by 8.33 per cent, settling at N3.30 and Ellah Lakes dropped by 5.39 per cent, closing at N7.90 per share.

Trading activity strengthened during the session, as volume rose by 9.16 per cent to 574.19 million shares, valued at N38.06 billion in 68,655 transactions.

Zenith Bank led market activity by volume and value, with 77.07 million shares worth N9.90 billion traded, representing 13.42 per cent and 26.01 per cent of total volume and value, respectively.