By Chukwuma Umeorah
The Nigerian equities market opened the week bullish as the benchmark All-Share Index (ASI) advanced by 0.07 per cent, equivalent to 94.27 points, to close at 144,722.47 basis points. This lifted the market capitalization by about N61 billion to settle at N91.56 trillion, pushing the year-to-date return further to 40.61 per cent.
The key market drivers were gains recorded in heavyweight stocks of Accesscorp, MTNN, UBA, GTCO and Dangote Sugar, which sustained investor sentiment. Market activity showed a mixed performance as investors exchanged 1.05 billion shares valued at N15.05 billion in 38,137 deals. This represented a 24 per cent decline in volume when compared with Friday’s session, but an 8 per cent rise in turnover and a 19 per cent increase in the number of deals.
Universal Insurance led in volume with 202.25 million units traded, while Champion Breweries drove value with transactions worth N1.16 billion. Other major value contributors included GTCO with N1.05 billion, Zenith Bank with N987.76 million, Aradel Holdings, N945.58 million and Accesscorp with N829.71 million. The market breadth closed positive with 43 gainers against 27 losers. UPDC and Aiico Insurance led the advancers’ chart with 10 per cent each to close at N7.15 and N4.18 per share respectively. Cornerstone Insurance gained 9.99 per cent to finish at N7.60, while Deap Capital appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N1.77 per share.
On the flip side, Stanbic IBTC Holdings topped the laggards after shedding 9.99 per cent to close at N100.00 per share. PZ Cussons lost 7.89 per cent to N35.00, NEM Insurance dipped 7.85 per cent to N29.95, while Chams dropped 5.26 per cent to settle at N2.70 per share.
Overall, 127 listed securities participated in the day’s trading, with the market posting a one-week decline of 0.79 per cent but a four-week gain of 9.78 per cent.
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