Nigerian Exchange (NGX) market capitalisation crossed N89 trillion mark on the back of more than a N948 billion increase in equity portfolio value on Friday, supported by a sustained rally and new shares listed by Seplat Energy. The Stock Market was saw a Bullish trading week on a bullish note, extending its impressive winning streak despite mixed outcomes in key performance indicators. The market index advanced by 1.00%, adding 1,399.53 basis points to close at a new all-time high of 141,263.05, according to trading data. Market capitalisation surged by ₦948.11 billion, representing a 1.07% increase to settle at ₦89.37 trillion. The marginal divergence between the index and the market capitalization has been attributed to Seplat Energy’s employee share-based payment of 11,500,000 Ordinary Shares.
Stockbrokers said bargain hunting in fundamentally strong and selective blue-chip stocks including as UAC of Nigeria, BUACEMENT, BETAGLAS, BUAFOODS, and others pushed key performance indicators upward. Today, market activities were down as the total volume and total value of all trades consummated on the Nigerian bourse declined by -1.51% and -18.22%, respectively. In a note, Atlass Portfolio Limited said approximately 1,079.17 million units valued at ₦26,850.96 million were transacted across 34,488 deals. In terms of volume, FCMB led the activity chart, accounting for 25.70% of the total volume of all trades in the Nigerian bourse, followed by FIDELITYBK, STERLINGNG, UNIVINSURE (4.15%), and VERITASKAP (3.85%), rounding out the top five. ARADEL emerged as the most traded stock in value terms, accounting for 12.18% of the total value of all trades executed on the exchange.
UACN topped the advancers’ chart with a price appreciation of 9.96 percent, trailed by BUACEMENT, VERITASKAP, BETAGLAS, LEGENDINT, WEMABANK, and twenty-eight others. Thirty-five stocks depreciated, stockbrokers reported. CHAMPION, DANGSUGAR, and OANDO were the top losers, with a price depreciation of -10.00% each. Other decliners include SOVRENINS, STERLINGNG, TRANSCORP, JAPAULGOLD, and ARADEL. At the close of the trading session, the market breadth closed negative, recording 34 gainers and 35 losers. In addition, the market sectoral performance was positive. The industrial sector grew by +3.49%, followed by the consumer goods sector, up by +1.61%, and the banking sector, which gained 0.52%. The Oil & Gas and Insurance sectors dropped by -1.73% and -0.29%, respectively.