The upward trajectory seen at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited in the past few trading days continued on Wednesday with a 0.32 per cent rise as a result of renewed confidence in the market.
The buying pressure on Nigerian stocks was sustained yesterday as all the main sectors of Customs Street ended in the green territory, according to data harvested by Business Post.
The energy index gained 0.59 per cent, the banking counter appreciated by 0.36 per cent, the insurance industry improved by 0.35 per cent, the commodity sector soared by 0.32 per cent, the consumer goods space chalked up 0.06 per cent, and the industrial goods sector increased by 0.02 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) closed higher by 354.25 points to settle at 112,781.73 points compared with the previous day’s 112,427.48 points and the market capitalisation advanced by N223 billion to close at N71.118 trillion versus the preceding day’s N70.895 trillion.
During the session, market participants transacted 598.2 million equities for N16.4 billion in 13,482 deals compared with the 622.6 million equities valued at N16.1 billion traded in 17,044 deals on Tuesday, showing a rise in the trading value by 1.86 per cent and a shortfall in the trading volume and number of deals by 3.93 per cent and 20.90 per cent, respectively.
Fidelity Bank ended the trading day as the busiest stock after selling 93.5 million units for N1.8 billion, GTCO traded 87.2 million units worth N6.0 billion, Royal Exchange transacted 73.1 million units valued at N64.9 million, UBA exchanged 57.1 million units worth N2.0 billion, and Access Holdings sold 38.8 million units valued at N854.6 million.
At the bourse at midweek, 32 equities finished on the gainers’ table and 21 equities closed on the losers’ chart, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
The best-performing equity for the session was Oando, which gained 10.00 per cent to quote at N51.70, UH REIT expanded by 9.96 per cent to N50.25, Royal Exchange chalked up 8.64 per cent to sell for 88 Kobo, Legend Internet appreciated by 7.27 per cent to N5.90, and Lasaco Assurance rose by 6.67 per cent to N3.20.
On the flip side, NCR Nigeria ended the day as the worst-performing equity after it shed 9.89 per cent to settle at N5.92, ABC Transport lost 9.83 per cent to close at N2.66, Meyer retreated by 9.63 per cent to N8.45, Academy Press contracted by 9.58 per cent to N4.53, and Livestock Feeds moderated by 6.77 per cent to N8.95.