By Seun Ibiyemi
Investors in the Nigerian equities market gained N611 billion at the close of trading on Monday, driven by strong performances in the shares of Union Dicon Salt Plc, Eunisell Interlinked Plc, and Sovereign Insurance, among others.
The benchmark All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 963.17 points, or 0.65%, to close at 149,940.81 points, compared to 148,977.64 points recorded on Friday.
Consequently, the market capitalization appreciated to N95.1 trillion from N94.5 trillion posted in the previous session.
Despite the gain, the market breadth closed negative with 30 gainers, 33 losers, and 83 unchanged equities out of 31,522 deals executed.
A total of 415.35 million units of shares, valued at N27.1 billion, were traded during the day’s session.
Union Dicon Salt Plc led the gainers’ chart with a 10% increase to close at N8.80 per share, up from N8.00. It was followed by Eunisell Interlinked Plc, which appreciated by 9.92% to N53.20, and Sovereign Insurance, which gained 6.51% to N3.80 per share.
On the losers’ list, Juli Plc dipped 9.94% to close at N8.06 per share. Thomas Wyatt Plc followed with a 9.63% decline to N2.72, while Daar Communications Plc fell by 7.14% to N1.04 per share.
Fidelity Bank Plc led in trading volume with 49 million shares exchanged in 675 deals, followed by Access Holdings Plc, which traded 41 million shares in 1,427 deals. Chams Plc transacted 20 million shares in 567 deals.
On the value index, Geregu Power Plc dominated with trades worth N9.2 billion in 142 deals, followed by Aradel Power Holding Plc with N3.2 billion in 479 deals, and Dangote Cement Plc with N1.9 billion in 1,398 deals.