Thursday witnessed a daily gain of about N329 billion on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), bringing the market capitalization to over N57 trillion as a result of purchasing interest in liquidity stocks such as BUA Cement and Geregu. In the wake of listed businesses’ results announcements, the market stabilized on fresh purchasing demand.
The Nigerian stock market performance indicators increased by +0.58% due to the spike in demand for growth stocks, while the fixed interest securities market had negative trading due to concerns about inflation. As headline inflation reached 29.90% in January, Atlass Portfolios Limited, in its market report, attributed the gain in the shares market to a resurgence of purchasing interest in bellwether companies like GEREGU, BUACEMENT, and others.
The market index, also known as the All-Share Index, rose by 601.72 basis points today, or +0.58%, to close at 104,100 points. The index has been steadily rising throughout 2024. The local bourse’s data indicated a decline in activity in the equity market. The day’s total trading volume and value decreased by -33.35% and -42.89%, respectively.
Stockbrokers report that 8,168 trades totaling about 284.49 million units for ₦6,913.78 million were completed. With 19.91% of the total amount of transactions, GTCO was the most traded stock in terms of volume. The top 5 on the volume table were completed by the orange brand financial services company, TRANSCORP (11.67%), UBA (6.46%), MBENEFIT (5.90%), and MANSARD (4.40%).
Due to its size, GTCO was also the most traded stock in value terms, with 32.05% of the total value of trades on the exchange. UPL topped the advancers’ chart for today with a price appreciation of 9.96 per cent.
The company was trailed by JULI with (+9.84%) growth, MBENEFIT (+9.38%), DAAARCOMM (+8.82%), HONYFLOUR (+7.50%), GEREGU (+6.47%), BUACEMENT (+5.87%) and seventeen others. Twenty-six stocks depreciated, according to data from the local bourse.
UNILEVER was the top loser, with a price depreciation of -9.80%. Also on the loser chart are JBERGER (-9.64%), NASCON (-5.37%), DANGSUGAR (-4.66%), FBNH (-4.41%), and TRANSCORP (-3.91%). In that regard, the market breadth closed negative, recording 24 gainers and 26 losers. In addition, the market sector performance was positive.
Today, three of the five major market sectors were up, led by the Industrial sector, which grew by +1.95%, followed by the Consumer goods sector which gained +0.22%. The Insurance sector rose by +0.18% while the Banking sector slipped by -1.32%. The Oil & Gas sector closed unchanged.
Overall, equities market capitalisation of the Nigerian stock market rose by ₦329.25 billion, representing a growth of +0.58%, to close at ₦56.96 trillion.
