Equities market gains N170bn, as PZ, Eterna, Champion Breweries top gainers

By Seun Ibiyemi

The Nigerian stock market gained N170 billion on Thursday, lifted by strong rallies in PZ Plc, Eterna Plc, and Champion Breweries, which topped the gainers’ chart.

The benchmark All-Share Index (ASI) rose to 142,979.46 points from 142,710.48 points the previous day, while market capitalization advanced to N90.7 trillion, up from N90.5 trillion on Tuesday.

Market breadth closed positive with 34 gainers against 26 losers and 87 unchanged equities across 32,682 deals. PZ Plc led the rally with a 10% gain to N37.95 per share, followed by Eterna Plc, up 9.94% to N37.05, and Champion Breweries, which added 9.82% to N15.10.

On the flip side, RT Briscoe dipped 9.89% to N3.37, Thomas Wyatt Plc fell 9.82% to N3.58, while Sovereign Insurance lost 9.33% to N2.72.

Trading activity was dominated by UBA, which exchanged 152 million shares in 1,514 deals, ahead of Wema Bank (152 million shares in 866 deals) and First HoldCo Plc (111 million shares in 510 deals). UBA also topped the value chart with N6.3 billion, followed by First HoldCo and Stanbic IBTC at N3.4 billion each.