…the Naira appreciated by 0.38% to close at ₦1,366.23
The Local Bourse ended trading on a strong footing, as broad-based gains across key sectors lifted the NGX All-Share Index by 76 basis points to settle at 198,407.30 points. The positive close capped a largely resilient trading week, with the market sustaining its upward bias despite intermittent profit-taking, as renewed buying interest in select bellwether stocks kept sentiment constructive.
The market’s positive performance was driven by price appreciations in ROYALEX, GUINNESS, UPL, MAYBAKER, BUACEMENT, WAPCO, NEM, ZENITHBANK, MTNN and GTCO, alongside gains in 24 other advancing stocks.
Consequently, the year-to-date return improved to 27.50%, as market capitalisation appreciated by 0.76% to ₦127.36 trillion, representing a ₦961.92 billion gain for investors.
Sectoral performance closed largely positive, with four of the five tracked indices ending the session in the green. The Industrial Goods Index led the gainers, surging by 3.06% on the back of strong price appreciations in BUACEMENT, WAPCO and CUTIX. Similarly, the Banking Index advanced by 0.84%, supported by renewed buying interest in ZENITHBANK, STANBIC, WEMABANK, and GTCO. The Consumer Goods Index also gained 0.51%, buoyed by price upticks in GUINNESS, HONYFLOUR and PZ, while the Oil & Gas Index edged higher by 0.08%, driven by mild gains in OANDO. Conversely, the Insurance Index was the sole laggard, down by 0.50%, fuelled by losses in MANSARD, AIICO and LINKASSURE.
MARKET ACTIVITY: Market activity was mixed today as traded volume appreciated by 7.51% to 591.04 million units, while traded value depreciated by 21.76% to ₦35.00 billion, respectively.
MARKET BREADTH: The market breadth, which measures investor sentiment through the Gainers/Losers ratio, increased to 1.75x from 1.00x as 35 stocks appreciated, 20 stocks depreciated, and 76 stocks closed flat.
FIXED INCOME MARKET: The average yield of the Treasury Bill and Bond markets closed bullish at 17.63% and 15.63%, respectively.
The Naira appreciated by 0.38% to close at ₦1,366.23
