The total market capitalization of the Nigerian Exchange, NGX, increased by approximately N369 billion, as banking sector stocks attracted renewed investor interest following a period of selling pressure in the preceding week.
The local equities market commenced the week with positive momentum, driven by renewed buying activity in GTCO, Zenith, and other financial institution stocks. During the trading session, the Nigerian Exchange All-Share Index advanced by 56 basis points, concluding the day at 105,551.39 points, while the market capitalization expanded by N369.0 billion, reaching a total of N66.19 trillion.
Reversing the previous period of sell-offs, the publication of audited financial statements and dividend announcements from United Bank for Africa (UBA) stimulated positive sentiment within the banking sector. Prominent market movers that experienced significant gains included GTCO (+6.53%), ZENITHBANK (+5.04%), FIRSTHOLDCO (+5.74%), and UBA (+2.72%).
The overall market sentiment strengthened, with the market breadth registering at 1.14x. The Nigerian bourse recorded 25 stocks that experienced gains, marginally exceeding the 22 stocks that experienced losses.
Trading activity displayed strength, with the number of transactions and trading volume increasing by 31.83% and 10.90%, respectively, despite a 26.12% decline in the total value of transactions. In total, 440.52 million shares, valued at N10.47 billion, were traded across 13,314 transactions.
ROYALEX (+10.00%) led the list of gainers, while NEM (-9.63%) experienced the largest decline. Market participation presented a mixed picture, with the total volume of shares traded increasing by 10.90%, to 440.52 million units, while the total value of trades decreased by 26.12%, to N10.5 billion.
ZENITHBANK led both the volume and value charts, with 55.1 million units traded, representing 12.50% of the total volume, and valued at N2.6 billion, representing 24.88% of the total value.
“We observed a block trade in FCMB (+5.56%) involving 42.5 million units at N9.00 per share,” CardinalStone Limited conveyed in its market update.
Stockbrokers noted that sectoral indices predominantly exhibited positive performance, with three out of five sectors closing higher. The banking sector (+3.78%) led the gains, with nearly all banking stocks registering increases, spearheaded by GTCO (+6.53%).
The Oil & Gas (+0.39%) and Consumer Goods (+0.07%) indices also experienced marginal increases, driven by gains in OANDO (+3.92%) and Nigerian Breweries (NB) (+0.75%), respectively.
However, the Insurance (-1.49%) and Industrial Goods (-0.01%) indices lagged, weighed down by sell-offs in NEM (-9.63%) and CUTIX (-4.96%). The commodity index remained unchanged.
