The Nigerian equities market opened the week on a positive note, with investors gaining N609 billion as bullish sentiment in banking stocks drove overall performance.
Market capitalisation rose by 0.44 per cent to N140.435 trillion from N139.826 trillion, while the All-Share Index advanced by 946.27 points, or 0.44 per cent, to close at 218,113.84 from 217,167.57.
The rally was largely supported by gains in mid- and large-cap stocks, including Nigerian Aviation Handling Company, Union Dicon Salt, Fidelity Bank, Trans-Nationwide Express, and Access Corporation, alongside 31 other equities.
Banking stocks were observed to have played a dominant role in the day’s performance, pushing the Year-to-Date return higher to 40.16 per cent. Market breadth closed positive with 36 gainers against 35 losers.
Leading the gainers’ chart were Nigerian Aviation Handling Company and Union Dicon Salt, both appreciating by 10 per cent to close at N242 and N18.15 per share respectively.
Fidelity Bank rose by 9.98 per cent to N22.05, while Trans-Nationwide Express gained 9.92 per cent to N6.65. Access Corporation also climbed by 9.87 per cent to N32.85 per share.
On the losers’ side, Stanbic IBTC Holdings and Livingtrust Mortgage Bank led with a 10 per cent decline each, closing at N169.70 and N3.69 per share respectively.
Transcorp Power shed 9.97 per cent to N272.70, while Abbey Mortgage Bank dropped 9.88 per cent to N7.30. Guinea Insurance also fell by 8.80 per cent to N1.14 per share.
A total of 983.9 million shares valued at N50.8 billion were traded in 76,410 deals, compared with 1.3 billion shares worth N54.4 billion exchanged in 56,923 transactions in the previous session, indicating a 21.79 per cent decline in market activity.
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Access Corporation recorded the highest trading volume with 91.65 million shares, representing 9.31 per cent of total volume. Meanwhile, Zenith Bank posted the highest value turnover at N7 billion, accounting for 13.80 per cent of the day’s traded value.
Commenting on market performance, David Adonri, Vice President of Highcap Securities, attributed the rally to strong investor interest in the banking sector.
He noted that mid-tier banks such as Access Bank, Fidelity Bank, and Sterling Bank recorded significant
