NGX Gains N389bn On Banking, Oil & Gas Rally

The Nigerian equities market extended its bullish run, with total market capitalisation advancing by N389 billion, driven by sustained buying interest in banking and select oil and gas stocks.

The All-Share Index (ASI) gained 562.44 points, representing a 0.28 per cent increase, to close at 202,585.54 points. Similarly, market capitalisation rose by N389 billion to settle at N130.404 trillion.

The positive performance was largely supported by price appreciation in large- and mid-cap stocks, including Seplat Energy, Nigerian Exchange Group, Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Holding Company, and Stanbic IBTC Holdings.

Commenting on the outlook, analysts at Futureview Group noted that the market could sustain its positive bias in the near term as investors continue to position in fundamentally sound stocks, although intermittent profit-taking may moderate gains.

Despite the overall uptrend, market breadth closed negative, with 31 decliners outweighing 22 advancers.

On the gainers’ chart, Universal Insurance led with a 10 per cent increase to close at N1.21 per share. Omatek Ventures followed, rising by 9.78 per cent to N2.47, while VFD Group appreciated by 9.71 per cent to close at N11.30 per share.

CWG gained 9.64 per cent to settle at N21.05, and Livestock Feeds rose by 9.56 per cent to close at N7.45 per share.

Conversely, Fortis Global Insurance topped the losers’ chart, declining by 9.92 per cent to N1.18 per share. DEAP Capital Management & Trust fell by 9.85 per cent to N5.40, while Chams Holding Company dropped by 9.47 per cent to close at N3.06 per share.

Japaul Gold & Ventures shed 8.82 per cent to close at N3.10, and International Breweries declined by 8.09 per cent to N12.50 per share.

Meanwhile, trading activity weakened, with total volume declining by 12.64 per cent to 1.007 billion units valued at N40.567 billion, exchanged in 52,723 deals.

Access Holdings led the activity chart with 232.98 million shares worth N6.06 billion. Fidelity Bank followed with 113.08 million shares valued at N2.17 billion, while Wema Bank recorded 103.30 million shares worth N2.69 billion.

Zenith Bank traded 60.64 million shares valued at N6.47 billion, while Chams Holding Company recorded transactions valued at N154.55 million.