The Nigerian stock market started the week on a positive note, closing with a gain of N369 billion. The All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 588.43 points, or 0.56%, to close at 105,551.39 points. Market capitalization increased to N66.189 trillion.
This upward trend was driven by gains in medium and large-cap stocks, including MRS Oil Nigeria, Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), McNichols, Oando, and First HoldCo.
Market sentiment was largely positive, with 25 stocks gaining against 22 losers. Royal Exchange recorded the highest gain at 10%, closing at 88 kobo per share, followed by Livestock Feeds which gained 9.87% to close at N9.24. Abbey Mortgage Bank and Universal Insurance also saw significant increases.
Conversely, NEM Insurance led the decline with a 9.63% drop, followed by United Capital and CWG, which fell by 9.29% and 6.67%, respectively.
Trading volume increased by 10.90%, with a total of 440.520 million units valued at N10.470 billion traded across 10,182 deals. Zenith Bank topped the activity chart with 55.063 million shares valued at N2.605 billion.
Looking ahead, United Capital Plc anticipates a marginal improvement in the equities market as investors prepare for the full-year 2024 earnings season, though elevated interest rates in the fixed-income market may continue to exert bearish pressure.
