The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) closed the trading week on a bullish note on Friday, with investors gaining about N1.105 trillion as total market capitalisation surged past the N110 trillion threshold.
Market capitalisation climbed by 1.01 per cent, rising from N109.129 trillion to N110.234 trillion at the close of trading. In the same vein, the All-Share Index (ASI) added 1,722.13 points, or 1.01 per cent, to settle at 171,727.49, up from 170,005.36 recorded in the previous session. This performance lifted the market’s year-to-date return to 10.36 per cent.
The positive outing was supported by strong buying interest in stocks including Nigerian Aviation Handling Company, Deap Capital Management, Omatek Ventures, Zichis Agro Allied Industries, Austinlaz, alongside 55 other equities.
Consequently, market breadth closed firmly positive, with 60 gainers outweighing 19 losers.
Leading the gainers’ table were Nigerian Aviation Handling Company, Deap Capital Management, and Omatek Ventures, each appreciating by 10 per cent to close at N136.40, N6.82, and N2.64 per share, respectively.
On the downside, The Initiates topped the losers’ chart after shedding 9.74 per cent to close at N19.45, followed by Daar Communications, which declined by 7.32 per cent to N1.90. United Capital also dipped by 6.55 per cent to close at N18.55 per share.
Trading activities witnessed a marked improvement as investors exchanged 953.8 million shares valued at N43.1 billion across 51,005 deals, compared with 712.9 million shares worth N22.3 billion traded in 46,104 deals in the previous session.
This reflects a 34 per cent increase in trading volume, a 94 per cent jump in turnover, and an 11 per cent rise in the number of deals.
Fidelity Bank led the activity chart by volume, trading 92.39 million shares, which accounted for 9.69 per cent of total shares exchanged. Meanwhile, Presco emerged as the most traded stock by value, with transactions worth N11.27 billion, representing 26.15 per cent of the day’s total turnover.