By Seun Ibiyemi
The Nigerian stock market opened the week on a strong footing on Monday as investors gained N804 billion, driven by renewed buying interest in key equities.
Market capitalisation rose by N804 billion or 0.64 per cent to close at N125.968 trillion, up from N125.164 trillion recorded at the start of trading.
Similarly, the All-Share Index (ASI) advanced by 1,273.79 points or 0.64 per cent to settle at 196,263.56, compared to 194,989.77 posted on Friday. The performance further strengthened the Year-to-Date (YTD) return to 26.12 per cent.
The rally was largely fueled by strong demand for stocks such as Okomu Oil Palm Company Plc, Fortis Global Insurance Plc, Fidson Healthcare Plc and NPF Microfinance Bank Plc, alongside 31 other advancing equities.
Market breadth closed flat, with 35 gainers and 35 losers.
On the gainers’ chart, Okomu Oil and Fortis Global Insurance led with a 10 per cent appreciation each, closing at N1,605.60 and 66k respectively. FG20203356 gained 9.91 per cent to close at N119.12, while Fidson rose by 9.90 per cent to N95.50. NPF Microfinance Bank appreciated by 9.89 per cent to end the session at N6.89 per share.
On the losers’ table, The Initiates Plc topped the chart with a 10 per cent decline to close at N17.55. Deap Capital Management & Trust Plc followed with a 9.97 per cent drop to N6.86. Multiverse Mining and Exploration Plc and LivingTrust Mortgage Bank Plc shed 9.92 per cent each to close at N22.70 and N5.90 respectively.
Ellah Lakes Plc also declined by 9.77 per cent to close at N11.55 per share.
Trading activity was significantly higher compared to the previous session. A total of 1.3 billion shares valued at N31.5 billion were exchanged in 95,091 transactions, compared to 820.5 million shares worth N28.3 billion traded in 63,507 deals on Friday.
This represented a 57 per cent increase in trading volume, an 11 per cent rise in value and a 50 per cent surge in the number of deals.
Japaul Gold & Ventures Plc recorded the highest volume of trades, with 473.98 million shares exchanged, accounting for 36.78 per cent of the total volume traded for the day.
Meanwhile, Aradel Holdings Plc posted the highest value of traded stocks at N4.14 billion, representing 13.14 per cent of the total value traded.
