Bulls extend dominance as market cap adds N197.4bn, Index up 0.33%

Bamidele Famoofo

The local bourse continued its bullish momentum today, with the All-Share Index (ASI) rising by 0.33 per cent to close at 98,540.93 points.

This gain led to a corresponding increase in market capitalization, up by 0.33 per cent to ₦59.71 trillion, adding ₦197.4 billion to investors’ portfolios.

Consequently, the year-to-date (YTD) return increased to 31.79 per cent . Despite the overall positive market sentiment, sectoral performance was mixed.

The banking and insurance sectors posted losses of 0.78 per cent and 2.11 per cent, respectively, while the consumer goods and oil/gas sectors recorded modest gains of 0.07 per cent and 0.13 per cent.

The industrial goods sector, however, remained flat at 0 per cent. At the close of trading, 15 stocks advanced while 28 stocks declined. Notable gainers included CHAMPION, TANTALIZER, OANDO,ARADEL, and ETERNA, while CAVERTON, TRIPPLEG, CILEASING, JAIZBANK, and ABCTRANS were among the top losers.

Trading activity remained robust, with the number of deals and value increasing by 19.39 per cent and 36.07 per cent, respectively, although trading volume fell by 6.21 per cent. A total of 286.04 million units were exchanged across 9,650 deals, amounting to ₦26.82 billion in value. ACCESSCORP led the trading volume with 45.9 million units valued at ₦928.5 million across 334 deals, while Aradel was the top stock traded by value.