Nigerian Stocks Edge Higher as Banking, Insurance Gain

Nigerian Stocks Edge Higher as Banking, Insurance Gain

Nigerian stocks edge higher on Thursday after three days of selloffs due to moderate positioning by equities investors. Consequently, the Nigerian Exchange All-Share Index -NGX ASI- advanced by 0.1% to 49,652.25 points. Stockbrokers said today’s performance was supported by bargain hunting in UBN (+7.1%) and WAPCO (+1.9%).

This fresh rally helped stock market returns. Trading data shows that year-to-date returns advanced to +16.2%, 100 basis points below 17.2% reported on Monday.

The total volume traded increased by 25.6% to 161.88 million units, valued at N1.63 billion, and exchanged in 3,541 deals, stockbrokers’ market reports show. TRANSCORP was the most traded stock by volume at 30.97 million units, while MTNN was the most traded stock by value at N692.20 million

Sectoral performance was broadly positive, as the Banking (+1.1%), Insurance (+0.8%), Oil & Gas (+0.4%), and Industrial Goods (+0.2%) indices recorded gains, while the Consumer Goods (-0.2%) index declined. READ: Stocks Edge Higher as Market Sentiment Improves

As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was positive (2.2x) as 20 tickers gained relative to 9 losers. ETRANZACT (+9.8%) and ARDOVA (+8.9%) recorded the highest gains of the day, while VITAFOAM (-10.0%) and MULTIVERSE (-9.9%) topped the losers’ list.

At the close of the trading session, market capitalisation gained ₦8.89 billion, up 0.03% to ₦26.781 trillion from ₦26.772 trillion the previous day. #Stocks Edge Higher as Banking, Insurance Gain