The Nigerian stocks market extended optimistic emotions yesterday, kicking off trading for February in a positive mood, as investors’ wealth climbed by N142 billion.
At the closing of trading on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) yesterday, the All Share Index (ASI) gained by 261.01 absolute points, or 0.5%, to close at 53,499.68 points. As a result, investors gained N142 billion in value, as the market capitalization increased to N29.140 trillion.
Gains in medium and large-cap equities, including Seplat Energy, Nestle Nigeria, Geregu Power, Nigerian Exchange Group, and Stanbic IBTC Holdings, aided the recovery.
Market breadth was level at the close, with 20 gainers and 20 losers. The largest price gains were reported by Industrial and Medical Gas Nigeria and Seplat Energy, which closed at N7.70 and N1,210, respectively, while Northern Nigeria Flour Mills (NNFM) followed with a gain of 9.46 percent to settle at N8.10 kobo.
International Energy Insurance gained 9.33% to close at 82 kobo, while Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) gained 9.26% to close at N8.85 kobo.
Guinness Nigeria, on the other hand, led the losers’ list by 10%, closing at N63.00 per share. Ardova followed with a 9.5% drop to close at N17.20, while Academy Press fell 9.85 percent to N1.19 kobo.
R.T. Briscoe Nigeria was down 9.68% to close at 28 kobo, while Cornerstone Insurance fell 8.33% to close at 55 kobo.
However, the overall volume traded fell by 19.91% to 200.368 million shares worth N5.524 billion, exchanged in 3,716 transactions. With 57.785 million shares valued at N11.557 million, transactions in Universal Insurance shares topped the activity chart.
Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) came in second with 16.607 million shares valued at N415.176 million, while United Bank for Africa (UBA) traded 11.152 million shares for N91.379 million.
Transcorp traded 8.798 million shares worth N10.913 million, while Geregu Power traded 8.482 million shares worth N1.634 billion.
