Market cap hits N92.25tn as bulls sustain grip

The Nigerian equities market extended its bullish run on Wednesday, with renewed investor confidence lifting the All-Share Index (ASI) by 0.70 per cent to close at 145,813.86 points. This brought the year-to-date (YtD) return to 41.67 per cent and pushed the market capitalisation up by N643 billion to settle at N92.25 trillion.

The positive momentum was driven by broad-based investor interest across several counters, as market breadth closed strong with 53 gainers against 26 losers.

SCOA Nigeria Plc led the advancers’ chart, gaining 10.00 per cent to close at N0.55 per share. It was followed by Hallmark Insurance Plc, which rose by 10.00 per cent to end at N0.44 per share. Learn Africa Plc gained 10.00 per cent, closing at N3.80 per share, while AXA Mansard Insurance Plc appreciated by 10.00 per cent to N6.27 per share. Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc also gained 10.00 per cent, closing at N0.22 per share.

On the laggards’ side, Nigerian Exchange Group Plc fell by 10.00 per cent to close at N63.00 per share. UAC of Nigeria Plc declined by 9.93 per cent to N90.52 per share, followed by Union Homes Real Estate Investment Trust, which shed 10.00 per cent to close at N5.76. LivingTrust Mortgage Bank Plc lost 9.68 per cent to settle at N5.51, while Multiverse Mining and Exploration Plc dropped 10.00 per cent to N9.00 per share.

The number of executed deals fell by 8.69 per cent to 35,137, however, overall market activity surged. Trading volume jumped by 168.02 per cent to 2.70 billion units, while the total value of trades rose by 46.62 per cent to N32.63 billion.

Conhall Pharmaceuticals Plc led the volume chart with 1.02 billion shares, followed by Linkage Assurance Plc (562.32 million units), Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc (183.77 million units ), AIICO Insurance Plc (90.68 million units), and Zenith Bank Plc (60.35 million units).

Sector performance was mixed. The NGX Insurance Index posted the biggest gain with 9.87 per cent, while the Industrial Goods and Oil & Gas indices rose by 2.85 per cent and 0.96 per cent respectively. On the flip side, the Banking and Consumer Goods indices recorded marginal declines of 0.36 per cent and 0.41 per cent.

Analysts predicts that the current positive momentum will persist in the near term as more companies continue to release their half-year earnings.