Equity market rebounds with N11bn gain

The Nigerian Exchange rebounded at the close of trading on Wednesday, recording a market capitalisation gain of N11bn as investors showed renewed buying interest in select stocks.

The benchmark All-Share Index edged up by 17.20 points, or 0.02 per cent to settle at 107,798.99 points, reversing previous losses.

Despite the positive performance, trading activity declined as the volume of shares exchanged dropped by 32 per cent to 245.5 million units, while the total value of transactions fell by 17 per cent to N8.41bn across 10,098 deals.

The market breadth remained positive, with 34 gainers outperforming 16 losers.

Union Homes Real Estate Investment Trust led the gainers, appreciating by 9.94 per cent to close at N44.25 per share. Africa Prudential followed with a 9.9 per cent increase, while Caverton Offshore Support Group and Omatek Ventures gained 9.87 per cent and 8.22 per cent, respectively.

On the flip side, Guinea Insurance emerged as the worst-performing stock, shedding 10 per cent to close at N0.72 per share. Eunisell Interlinked and The Initiates Plc declined by 9.68 per cent and 8.02 per cent, respectively, while Oando dipped by 7.69 per cent.

Access Holdings recorded the highest volume of traded shares with 36.6 million units, followed by Zenith Bank with 26.8 million shares, Sterling Bank with 11.2 million shares, and Jaiz Bank with 10.9 million shares.

Sectoral performance was mixed, with the NGX Consumer Goods Index gaining 0.58 per cent, the NGX Insurance Index rising by 0.83 per cent, and the NGX Premium Index inching up by 0.13 per cent. However, the NGX Top 30 Index and the NGX Pension Index recorded slight declines.

The PUNCH reported that investors at the Nigerian Exchange Limited lost N215bn at the close of trading on Tuesday as the equities market extended its losing streak.