…The Naira depreciated by 0.24% to close at ₦1,341.35
The local market closed bullish, with the benchmark Index rising by 139 basis points to close at 193,073.57 points. The positive outcome was driven by interest in fundamentally strong equities, as investors took advantage of recent price corrections to build positions. Market activity was largely skewed to the buy side, resulting in improved sentiment and a sustained upward movement.
The upbeat performance was driven by price appreciation in FIRSTHOLDCO, ACCESSCORP, MTNN, JBERGER, HONYFLOUR, UBA, WAPCO, ZENITHBANK, GTCO, alongside 43 additional advancing stocks.
Consequently, the year to date return improved to 24.07%, as market capitalization advanced by 1.39% to ₦123.93 trillion, representing a ₦1.70 trllion gain in investors’ wealth.
Sectoral performance was broadly positive, with four of the five tracked indices closing higher. The Banking Index led the gainers, advancing by 2.63% on the back of increased investor interest in STANBIC, FIRSTHOLDCO, ACCESSCORP, UBA, ZENITHBANK, STERLINGNG and GTCO. Similarly, the Consumer Goods, Insurance and Industrial Goods indices rose by 0.54%, 0.50% and 0.29%, respectively, driven by renewed buying interest in GUINNESS, NASCON, VITAFOAM, UACN, HONYFLOUR, INTBREW, CHAMPION, CUSTODIAN, FTGINSURE, WAPIC, CONHALLPLC, NEM, SOVRENINS, JBERGER and WAPCO. Meanwhile, the Oil and Gas Index declined by 0.11%, weighed down by losses in OANDO.
MARKET ACTIVITY: Market activity was negative as traded volume and value depreciated by 75.51% and 37.82% to 898.84 billion units and ₦38.48 billion, respectively.
MARKET BREADTH: The market breadth, which measures investor sentiment through the Gainers/Losers ratio, increased to 2.00x from 0.81x as 56 stocks appreciated, 26 stocks depreciated, and 53 stocks closed flat.
FIXED INCOME MARKET: The average yield of the Treasury Bill and Bond markets closed bullish at 17.33% and 15.93%, respectively.
CURRENCY MARKET: The Naira depreciated by 0.24% to close at ₦1,341.35
