By Samuel Bankole
Nigeria’s equities closed the last trading session of the week on a positive note, with the main market index closing 0.18 percent higher on the back of gains by shares of MTN Nigeria and Dangote Sugar.
The local unit of South Africa’s telecom firm, MTN Nigeria, gained 1.05 percent, alongside Dangote Sugar, which rose by 1.85 percent, and Ecobnk, up 1.94 percent, pushing the broader index up by 65,325.37 points.
The gains in the heavyweight stocks offset losses in Guaranty Trust Bank Holding Company (GTCO), which declined by 0.26 percent; Stanbic IBTC, which dropped 0.16 percent; and Access Corporation, which declined by 0.86 percent.
Having gained in three (3) of five (5) trading sessions this week, the ASI closed 0.20 percent higher w/w, while the year-to-date (YTD) return rose to 27.46 percent.
The market capitalization gained N92.68 billion w/w to close at N35.57 trillion.
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Analysis of today’s market activities showed trade turnover settled higher relative to the previous session, with the value of transactions up by 45.60 percent.
The total volume traded closed with an exchange of 489.691 million units valued at N8.36 billion traded in 5,804 deals.
The market breadth was positive, with 29 gainers as against 25 losers.
The NGX 30 Index increased by 0.30 percent to close at 2,380.04 points as against 2,372.82 points at the previous close.
Market turnover closed with a traded volume of 289.79 million units. Transcorp and Sterling were the key gainers, while International Breweries and UBA were the key losers.
(Edited by Oludare Mayowa; omayowa@globalfinancialdigest.com; Newsroom: +234 8033 964 138)
