The stock market closed on a positive note on Wednesday, with investors gaining N99 billion as buying interest persisted in several large- and mid-cap stocks.
Market capitalization rose by 0.06 per cent, increasing from ₦156.943 trillion to ₦157.042 trillion.
The All-Share Index, ASI, gained 154.59 points, or 0.06 per cent, to close at 244,852.21 compared with 244,697.62 recorded in the previous session.
The sustained rally further strengthened investors’ Year-To-Date, YTD, return to 57.35 per cent. In spite of the positive close, market breadth remained negative, with 37 stocks recording losses against 30 gainers, indicating a broader sell-off across the market.
FG142037S2 led the decliners’ chart by 26.67 per cent, closing at ₦95.33, Neimeth Pharmaceuticals trailed by 10 per cent, settling at ₦9, while International Energy Insurance dropped by 9.92 per cent, finishing at ₦7.90 per share.
Similarly, John Holt shed 9.73 per cent, ending the session at ₦13.45, and Union Homes Real Estate Investment Trust dipped by 8.56 per cent, closing at ₦70 per share.
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On the other hand, Livestock Feeds led the gainers’ chart by 10 per cent, settling at ₦9.35, Deap Capital Management followed by 9.86 per cent, ending at ₦5.35, and Abbey Mortgage Bank gained 9.78 per cent, finishing at ₦12.35 per share.
Also, Vitafoam rose by 8.25 per cent, closing at ₦210, while FTN Cocoa Processors soared by 6.54 per cent, settling at ₦9.45 per share.
Market activity declined for the day, with total trading volume falling by 3.47 per cent to 1.23 billion shares valued at ₦38.84 billion in 54,193 transactions.
Sterling Nigeria emerged as the most actively traded stock by volume, accounting for 565.33 million shares or 46.10 per cent of the total volume traded.
Aradel led in value terms with transactions worth ₦6.82 billion, representing 17.55 per cent of the day’s total market value.”
NAN
