BUSINESS
Equities gain N2.27trn as market capitalisation hits N162trn
The Nigerian stock market extended its upward trend on Friday, gaining N2.265 trillion in its seventh consecutive bullish session.
Market capitalisation rose by N2.265 trillion or 1.42 per cent, closing at N162.157 trillion when compared to N159.892 trillion recorded on Thursday.
Similarly, the All-Share Index (ASI) climbed by 3,489.18 points or 1.42 per cent to reach 249,804.56 as against 246,315.38 earlier recorded.
The positive trend was driven by strong buying interest in medium and large-capitalised stocks, like: Cileasing, Fortis Global Insurance, MTN Nigeria, Secure Electronic Technology, Mutual Benefits and 31 others.
While the market’s Year-to-Date return strengthened to 60.53 per cent, the market breadth ended positively, recording 36 advancers against 22 decliners.
Cileasing and Fortis Global Insurance topped the gainers’ chart by 10 per cent each, settling at N5.50 and N1.65 per share respectively.
MTN Nigeria advanced by 9.20 per cent, finishing at N890, while Mutual Benefits and Secure Electronic Technology increased by 9.09 per cent each, closing at N3.60 and 72k per share respectively.
On the flip side, Transcorp Power led the losers’ chart by 9.96 per cent, ending the session at N178, Cadbury Nigeria trailed by 9.32 per cent, closing at N53 and Omatek Ventures dipped by 8.40 per cent, settling at N1.20 per share.
Also, Sovereign Trust Insurance dipped by 6.78 per cent, finishing at N2.20, while Ellah Lakes went down by 5.11 per cent, closing at N8.35 per share.
Trading activity on the Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX) weakened during the session, with total volume declining by 52.68 per cent to 526.01 million shares.
The transactions, valued at N96.91 billion, were executed in 44,293 deals.
Mutual Benefits led the volume chart with 76.64 million shares, representing 14.57 per cent of the total volume traded.
Seplat Energy accounted for the highest value traded at N67.51 billion, representing 69.67 per cent of the day’s total value.
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