NGX ASI Index Rises, Market Cap Nears N100 Trillion
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) market capitalisation inched near N100 trillion mark in the first trading session in the New Year due to sustained bargain hunting across key indexes.
The local bourse kicked off the year on a positive note as the All-Share Index (ASI) edged higher by 1.92% to reach 156,492.36 points, while market capitalization increased by N2.04 trillion to N99.94 trillion.
According to CardinalStone Securities Limited, the week’s upbeat performance was predominantly driven by gains in BUAFOODS, ARADEL and ACCESSCORP. These top gainers offset decliners in FIRSTHOLDCO, NB, and SEPLAT.
BUA Foods surged by 6.80% week on week due to sustained demand for the consumer goods stock. Aradel Holdings Plc saw a new re-rating that pushed its market value higher by 5.94%, and Access Plc climbed by 12.20% week on week.
First Holdco declined by 7.92% after a strong rally, and Nigerian Breweries Plc retreated by 5.73% while Seplat Energy lost 3.43% of its market value over the week.
Stockbrokers said in today’s session, the market returned 0.57%, following gains in ARADEL (+7.51%), ACCESSCORP (+9.52%), and ZENITHBANK (+4.37%).
Market sentiment was very robust, with market breadth printing at 5.30x, as 53 gainers outpaced 10 losers. ABCTRANS, FTNCOCOA, MBENEFIT, and DEAPCAP were joint-best performers – all posting 10.00% gains in today’s trading session.
On the flipside, ABBEYBDS (-6.25%) recorded the steepest decline to top the laggards’ log. However, market activity levels weakened, with the total volume traded decreasing by 64.22% to 439.95 million units, and total value traded declined 28.92% to close at N25.0 billion.
CHAMS led the volume chart with a total of 120.3 million units (27.34% of total volume traded, while ARADEL topped the value chart with shares worth N10.7 billion (43.01% of total value traded).
The sectoral performance was bullish, with all sectoral indices posting gains in today’s session. The Banking (+2.32%) index led the pack, driven by buying interest in ACCESSCORP (+9.52%).
The Insurance (+2.07%) index followed suit, following gains in WAPIC (+7.69%).
The Oil & Gas (+1.38%) and Commodity (+0.71%) indices closed positive due to gains in ARADEL (+7.51%), while the Consumer Goods (+0.21%) index closed higher following price gains in INTBREW (+1.79%). Elsewhere, the Industrial Goods index closed flat. CBN Hikes Rates on Treasury Bills with 91, 182-Day Tenors
