The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) opened the week on a strong note as equities gained ₦285 billion in market value on Monday, buoyed by positive performances from Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Cutix Plc, and several insurance stocks, Punch reports.
At the close of trading, the All-Share Index (ASI) advanced by 435.61 points (0.31%) to settle at 141,439.75, while the overall market capitalization rose to ₦89.5 trillion.
This rebound comes after a volatile week in which the market lost significant value.
According to trading data, investors exchanged 589.73 million shares worth ₦11.22 billion in 33,304 deals.
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Despite this representing a 23% decline in volume and a 56% drop in turnover compared to the previous session, the number of deals increased by 29%, suggesting renewed trading interest.
Market breadth also closed positive with 40 gainers against 17 losers. Julius Berger topped the gainers’ chart, appreciating 9.93% to close at ₦146.10 per share, followed by Cutix Plc (+9.86% to ₦3.90), and Regency Alliance Insurance (+9.70% to ₦1.47).
Other notable gainers included Veritas Kapital Assurance (+9.60%), McNichols (+9.37%), and NEM Insurance (+8.83%).
On the losers’ side, University Press led with a 12.06% decline to ₦5.54, while Cadbury Nigeria fell 9.61% to ₦57.85.
Other laggards included Abbey Mortgage Bank (-8.39%), Daar Communications (-7.44%), and Mecure Industries (-6.02%).
In terms of trading activity, FCMB Group led the chart with 105.1 million shares worth ₦1.14 billion exchanged in 1,144 deals. GTCO emerged as the most traded stock by value at ₦2.39 billion, followed by Aradel Holdings (₦1.35bn), Zenith Bank (₦709.4m), and UBA (₦683.6m).
Sectoral performance was mixed, with the Insurance Index emerging as the best performer (+3.81%), driven by gains in Regency Alliance, Veritas Kapital, and NEM Insurance.
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The Banking Index rose 1.12%, while the Consumer Goods Index gained 0.29%. However, the Top 30 Index posted a modest rise of 0.25%.
Despite Monday’s rally, the market still recorded a weekly decline of 2.27%, though it retained a four-week gain of 4.64% and a robust year-to-date growth of 37.42%, underlining strong investor appetite for equities amid broader economic challenges.
Image Credit: Realnews Magazine
