Salamatu Ejembi, Lagos
The Nigerian equities market sustained its bullish momentum as the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) inched higher by 0.49% to attain a new level of 154,489.90 basis points, while market capitalisation expanded by ₦478.26 billion to settle at ₦98.06 trillion.
Thursday’s positive performance was driven by buying interest in MTN Nigeria Communications Plc (+2.00%), Lafarge Africa Plc (+8.63%), Aradel Holdings Plc (+3.93%), Dangote Cement Plc (+1.61%), and BUA Cement Plc (+2.91%), which outweighed selloffs recorded in Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc (-9.15%), Nigerian Breweries Plc (-7.83%), and Oando Plc (-6.44%).
As a result, the year-to-date return increased to 50.10% from 49.37% in the previous session, while the month-to-date settled at +8.3%.
Market activity notably improved, with transaction volume and value increasing by 57.24% and 12.25%, respectively.
Investors traded a total of 926.92 million units valued at ₦26.95 billion in 30,703 deals.
Japaul Gold & Ventures Plc was the most traded stock by volume at 436.05 million units, while Lafarge Africa Plc was the most traded by value at ₦6.98 billion.
As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was negative as 33 stocks gained relative to 37 losers.
PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc (+10.00%), TIP (+10.00%), and ASO Savings and Loans Plc (+9.09%) led the gainers, while John Holt Plc (-9.72%), Multiverse Mining and Exploration Plc (-9.71%), and Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc (-9.15%) led the laggards.
Sectoral performance was mixed, as the Industrial Goods (+3.1%) and Oil & Gas (+1.1%) indices advanced, while the Insurance (-1.3%), Banking (-1.1%), and Consumer Goods (-0.9%) indices declined.