Equities market ends week on a high with N143bn gain

The Nigerian equities market wrapped up the week on a positive note, delivering a N143 billion gain for investors at the close of trading on Friday.

This performance was driven by notable increases in the share prices of companies such as Northern Nigeria Flour Mills, Trans-Nationwide Express and Champion Plc, among others listed on the trading floor.

The benchmark All-Share Index (ASI) climbed to 109,710.37 points, up from 109,467.64 points recorded the day before.

Following five hours of activity on the capital market, the overall equity capitalisation rose to N68.9 trillion, improving from N68.8 trillion posted at the close of trade on Thursday.

Market breadth remained positive, with 34 stocks recording gains, 23 posting losses and 63 remaining unchanged across 14,600 executed deals.

Northern Nigeria Flour Mills, Trans-Nationwide Express and Champion Plc topped the gainers’ chart, each advancing by 10 per cent to close at N119.90, N2.20 and N6.82 respectively, up from their previous prices of N109.00, N2.00 and N6.20 per share.

Meanwhile, International Energy Insurance, Multiverse Mining & Exploration, and The Initiates Plc led the laggards with respective price drops of 9.57 per cent, 9.55 per cent and 7.86 per cent. Their shares closed at N1.70, N8.05 and N6.80, down from N1.88, N8.90 and N7.38 per share.

On the volume index, Access Holdings Plc dominated trading activity with 31 million shares exchanged in 1,530 deals. It was closely followed by Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), which recorded 30 million shares traded across 518 transactions.

Aiico Insurance Plc (AIICO) also featured prominently, with 28 million shares exchanged in 238 deals.

In terms of value, GTCO led the board with shares worth N2.0 billion traded in 518 deals. Access Holdings Plc followed, with equities valued at N735 million exchanged in 1,530 transactions.

Zenith Bank Plc also ranked high in value traded, with shares worth N719 million moved across 752 deals.