The equities market opened trading activities for this week on a positive note by N745 billion following share price appreciation in Aradel Holdings Plc and 48 others.
As a result, the All Share Index (ASI) gained by 946.61 points, representing a growth of 0.58 per cent to close at 163,244.69 points. Also, market capitalisation gained N745 billion to close at N104.521 trillion.
The upturn was impacted by gains recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are; Aradel Holdings, Lafarge Africa, NCR Nigeria, Industrial & Medical Gases Nigeria and Nigerian Exchange Group.
Market breadth was positive, with 49 gainers outpacing 20 decliners. DEAP Capital Management & Trust, eTranzact International, McNichols, R.T. Briscoe (Nigeria), Red Star Express and UPDC recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent each to close at N3.30, N16.50, N6.05, N3.96, N11.55 and N5.50 respectively, per share.
Jaiz Bank followed with a gain of 9.96 per cent to close at N6.18, while Veritas Kapital Assurance, NCR Nigeria and Industrial & Medical Gases Nigeria up by 9.94 per cent each to close at N1.99, N87.90 and N38.70, per share.
On the other hand, Champion Breweries led the losers’ chart by 8.51 per cent to close at N15.05, per share. Eunisell Interlinked followed with a decline of 8.01 per cent to close at N156.20, while Ikeja Hotels declined by 8.00 per cent to close at N36.80, per share.
Guinea Insurance depreciated by 7.30 per cent to close at N1.27, while Omatek Ventures declined by 3.13 per cent to close at N1.24, per share.
Also, the total volume rose by 84.17 per cent to 1.149 billion units, valued at N19.234 billion, and exchanged in 59,359 deals. Transactions in the shares of Sovereign Trust Insurance topped the activity chart with 307.466 million shares valued at N1.001 billion. Fidelity Bank followed with 158.391 million shares worth N3.139 billion, while Linkage Assurance traded 118.733 million shares valued at N213.867 million.
Mutual Benefits Assurance traded 31.493 million shares valued at N130.431 million, while Lasaco Assurance sold 31.012 million shares worth N79.609 million.
On market performance for this week, United Capital Plc said, “the equity market is expected to remain positive but selective, supported by improving business confidence and strong momentum in consumer goods, banking, and insurance stocks. However, gains may moderate as investors make profits after recent advances and await fresh catalysts.”