By Ifeyinwa Ezeokoli
The Nigerian equity market traded with bullish sentiments, as buying interest in Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) (+2.4 percent) and eight others pushed the benchmark index higher.
Precisely, the All-Share Index rose by 31.43 points, representing a gain of 0.06 percent, to close at 54,936.11 points.
Accordingly, the month-to-date and year-to-date returns printed -1.6 percent and +7.2 percent, respectively.
Also, the market capitalisation rose further by N17 billion to close at N29.93 trillion.
The upturn was impacted by gains recorded in medium- and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are GTCO, Nigerian Exchange Group, Fidelity Bank, FBN Holdings, and Transcorp.
Analysts at Afrinvest Limited said, “In the penultimate trading session, we expect a muted performance on the bourse, on the back of weak investor sentiment.”
As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was negative, with 14 losers in relation to nine gainers.
GTCO and Wapic Insurance led the gainers’ chart in percentage terms by 2.44 percent each to close at N25.50 and 42.K per share, respectively.
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Linkage Assurance followed with 2.22 percent to close at 46.07 per share.
Lasaco Assurance rose by 2.04 percent to close at N1, while Transcorp appreciated by 1.56 percent to close at N1.30 per share.
On the other hand, NCR Nigeria led the losers’ chart in percentage terms by 9.69 percent to close at N2.61 per share.
FTN Cocoa processors followed with 6.90 per cent to close at 27 k, while Japaul Gold & Ventures shed 6.67 per cent to close at 28 k per share.
Cutix lost 4.95 percent to close at N2.11, while Consolidated Hallmark Insurance shed 4.62 percent to close at 62k per share.
The total volume traded rose by 5.0 percent to 134.15 million units, valued at N1.33 billion, exchanged in 2,479 deals.
Transactions in the shares of Transcorp topped the activity chart with 28.12 million shares valued at N35.93 million.
United Bank for Africa followed with 21.23 million shares worth N170.42 million, while Courteville Business Solutions traded 19.12 million shares valued at N8.61 million.
GTCO traded 13.55 million shares valued at N336.90 million, while FBNH transacted 8.13 million shares worth N88.99 million.
(Edited by Oludare Mayowa; omayowa@globalfinancialdigest.com, Newsroom +234 8033 964 138)
