Equities Rally 0.62%, Market Cap Rises To N159.89trn

The Nigerian equities market extended its bullish run yesterday, gaining 0.62 per cent as strong buying interest in cement and banking stocks pushed market capitalisation up by N1.177 trillion to N159.892 trillion.

The All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 1,523.59 points to close at 246,315.38 points, from the previous 244,791.79 points.

The gain was driven largely by price appreciation in large- and medium-capitalised stocks, including Beta Glass, BUA Cement, First HoldCo, Fidson Healthcare and May & Baker Nigeria.

Market breadth remained positive, with 33 stocks gaining against 23 losers.

Beta Glass, Consolidated Hallmark Holdings and BUA Cement led the gainers’ chart, rising by 10 per cent each to close at N511.50, N7.37 and N297.00 per share respectively.

Royal Exchange gained 9.89 per cent to close at N1.00, while Sovereign Trust Insurance rose 9.77 per cent to N2.36 per share.

On the losers’ side, Transcorp Power led the chart with a 9.97 per cent decline to close at N197.70 per share. Legend Internet followed with a 9.88 per cent loss to N3.65, while Omatek Ventures fell 9.66 per cent to N1.31 per share.

LivingTrust Mortgage Bank depreciated by 8.45 per cent to N2.60, while International Breweries declined 5.94 per cent to N10.30 per share.

Trading activity also strengthened, with total volume rising by 67.8 per cent to 1.11 billion shares valued at N46.02 billion and exchanged in 54,102 deals.

Fidelity Bank led trading activity with 524.333 million shares worth N10.302 billion. Mutual Benefits Assurance followed with 80.905 million shares valued at N266.699 million, while Zenith Bank recorded 78.558 million shares worth N10.099 billion.

Sterling Financial Holdings Company traded 75.824 million shares valued at N572.721 million, while Access Holdings recorded 44.730 million shares worth N1.281 billion.

Commenting on the outlook, Cowry Asset Management Limited said the market was expected to sustain its bullish trend as investor sentiment continued to improve, although residual profit-taking could moderate the pace of the recovery.