Bulls Extend Rally As Market Cap Crosses N67trn

The Nigerian equities market maintained a positive trend yesterday, crossing N67 trillion as investors continued to take positions in stocks, driven by expectations of stronger earnings releases.

The All Share Index (ASI) gained by 1,247.54 points, representing a growth of 1.17 per cent to close at 107,822.52 points. Also, market capitalisation gained N779 billion to close at N67.274 trillion.

The upturn was impacted by gains recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are; Presco, Transcorp Power, Dangote Cement, Transcorp Hotels and VFD Group.

Also, investor sentiment, as measured by market breadth, was positive as 51 stocks advanced, while 16 declined Ikeja Hotels and VFD Group recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent each to close at N14.85 and N52.80 respectively, per share.

Transcorp Hotel and Honeywell Flour Mills followed with a gain of 9.99 per cent each to close at N126.10 and N12.66 respectively, while Eterna up by 9.93 per cent to close at N48.70, per share.

On the other hand, CWG led the losers’ chart by 8.95 per cent to close at N8.65, per share. Regency Alliance Insurance followed with a decline of 7.89 per cent to close at 70 kobo, while LASACO Assurance declined by 7.25 per cent to close at N3.20, per share.

Royal Exchange depreciated by 7.22 per cent to close at 90 kobo, while SCOA Nigeria declined by 6.54 per cent to close at N3.43, per share.

Meanwhile, the total volume traded declined by 7.52 per cent to 462.145 million units, valued at N10.233 billion, and exchanged in 15,629 deals. Transactions in the shares of Sterling Financial Holdings Company topped the activity chart with 49.612 million shares valued at N296.815 million. Ellah Lakes followed with 34.505 million shares worth N133.924 million, while Zenith Bank traded 25.550 million shares valued at N1.308 billion.

Access Holdings traded 19.590 million shares valued at N553.680 million, while AIICO Insurance sold 18.492 million shares worth N32.203 million.