The Nigerian stock market ended August on a mildly positive note, posting a 0.31% gain despite late selloffs in some heavyweight stocks.
Tracked by the All-Share Index, the market opened at 139,863.5 points and gained over 5,000 in the first two weeks, climbing past 146,000 on the back of July’s strong momentum.
That early rally, however, gave way to weaker sentiment in the third week as oil and gas majors and some mid-cap stocks slipped, setting the stage for deeper losses.
By the fourth week, losses in big cement and other large caps dragged the index down over 3,500 points. With a further 708 points lost in the final week, much of August’s early gains were erased.
Despite the market’s muted close, several penny and mid-cap stocks, mainly in the insurance sector and a few from other industries, posted strong gains.
Although their performance could not fully offset the declines caused by select heavyweights, they still delivered impressive returns for investors who held them.
Here are August’s top performers.