The first trading session after the Christmas break ended on a positive note on Monday with a 0.55 per cent appreciation.
The market resume trading activities yesterday after it closed last Wednesday and investors returned with high expectations, resulting in the uptick recorded at the close of business.
The portfolios of traders went up during the session by N542 billion to N98.432 trillion from the N97.890 trillion it ended in the previous trading day, and the All-Share Index (ASI) grew by 849.70 points to 154,389.53 points from 153,539.83 points.
Austin Laz and Ecobank topped the gainers’ group after rising by 10.00 per cent each to settle at N3.52 and N41.80 apiece, Eunisell rose by 9.95 per cent to N96.70, Honeywell Flour expanded by 9.86 per cent to N19.50, and Guinness Nigeria surged by 9.82 per cent to N349.90.
On the flip side, International Energy Insurance slipped by 10.00 per cent to N2.34, Meyer declined by 9.92 per cent to N11.80, eTranzact decreased by 9.92 per cent to N11.35, and Livestock Feeds depreciated by 9.60 per cent to N5.65.
The market breadth index remained positive after Customs Street ended with 41 price gainers and 37 price losers, indicating a strong investor sentiment.
A total of 1.5 billion shares worth N35.4 billion were traded in 47,892 deals on Monday compared with the 1.8 billion shares valued at N30.1 billion transacted in 19,372 deals last Wednesday, showing a shortfall in the trading volume by 16.67 per cent, and a jump in the trading value and number of deals by 17.94 per cent and 147.22 per cent, respectively.
Access Holdings was the most active stock for the session with 594.4 million units worth N12.4 billion, Champion Breweries traded 122.1 million units for N1.8 billion, FCMB exchanged 116.6 million units valued at N1.3 billion, Japaul transacted 66.2 million units worth N155.3 million, and First Holdco sold 51.5 million units valued at N2.6 billion.