The Nigerian stock market began the week on a positive note, as investors gained N443 billion amid renewed buying interest.
The rally was driven by increased demand for stocks such as NGX Group, Trans-Nationwide Express, MC Nichols, VFD Group, CHAMS, and 27 others.
Market capitalization rose from an opening value of N131.165 trillion to close at N131.608 trillion, representing a gain of 0.34 per cent or N443 billion.
In the same vein, the All-Share Index advanced from 203,770.43 to 204,458.86, reflecting an increase of 688.43 points or 0.34 per cent.
This led to an increase in the Year-to-Date return to 31.39 per cent while the market breadth closed positive with 32 gainers and 24 losers.
NGX Group led the gainers’ chart by 10 per cent, closing at N153.45.
Trans-Nationwide Express trailed by 9.81 per cent, ending the session at N4.14.
MC Nichols soared by 9.74 per cent, settling at N7.10 per share.
Also, VFD Group gained by 9.71 per cent, finishing at N11.30 and CHAMS increased by 8.96 per cent, closing at N3.65 per share.
On the other hand, Berger Paints topped the losers’ chart by 9.95 per cent, ending the session at N68.35.
Academy followed by 9.71 per cent, finishing at N7.90 and Caverton Offshore Support Group dipped by 5.98 per cent, closing at N5.50 per share.
Similarly, Honeywell Flour shed by 4.92 per cent, settling at N20.30 while CAP dipped by 3.81 per cent, closing at N96 per share.
Trading activity declined at the close of the session, as total volume fell by 14.33 per cent to 470.01 million shares, valued at N32.45 billion across 60,793 deals.
Access Corporation led the volume chart with 54.91 million shares traded, representing 11.68 per cent of the day’s total volume.
Aradel topped the value chart with transactions worth N7.05 billion, accounting for 21.74 per cent of the total value traded.
Investors’ interest is likely to shift more this week and in the near term to fundamentally strong equities, especially undervalued stocks offering attractive dividends.
NAN
