Nigerian Equities market surges N542bn in 11th consecutive bullish session

By Seun Ibiyemi

The Nigerian equities market kicked off the week on a high note on Monday, following the Christmas holiday, as investors collectively gained N542 billion, extending the market’s bullish run to 11 consecutive sessions.

Analysts have described the sustained rally as a “Santa Claus” effect.

Major stocks, including Austinlaz, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), Eunisell Interlinked, Honeywell Flour, and Guinness Nigeria, led the surge, driving the All-Share Index (ASI) up by 0.55% (849.70 points) to close at 154,389.53 points, from the 153,539.83 points recorded on Wednesday.

Market capitalisation opened at N97.890 trillion and rose by N542 billion to close at N98.432 trillion. Year-to-date returns have surged to 50%, reflecting strong investor confidence.

Among the gainers, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated and Austinlaz topped the chart with 10% growth each, closing at N41.80 and N3.52 per share, respectively. Eunisell Interlinked advanced by 9.95% to N96.70, Honeywell Flour rose by 9.86% to N19.50, while Guinness Nigeria climbed 9.82% to end the session at N349.90 per share.

Conversely, International Energy Insurance led the losers with a 10% decline to N2.34 per share. Meyer and Etranzact fell by 9.92% each, closing at N11.80 and N11.35 per share, respectively, while Livestock Feeds and Cileasing lost 9.60% and 8.06%, finishing at N5.65 and N5.70.

Trading activity saw a total of 1.47 billion shares valued at N35.5 billion exchanged across 47,892 transactions, compared with 1.75 billion shares worth N30.05 billion in 19,372 deals recorded earlier. Analysis of market breadth indicated a 16% decline in trading volume, a 22% increase in value, and a remarkable 147% rise in the number of deals.

Access Corporation dominated trading, recording the highest volume and value with 594.38 million shares valued at N12.36 billion, representing 40.48% and 34.78% of the total volume and value traded for the day.

The robust performance underscores continued investor optimism and suggests that the bullish trend may persist into the new year.