Seplat, Zenith Bank Drive NGX Rally, Investors Gain N598bn
Seplat Energy, Transcorp, and Zenith Bank Plc were among the top gainers on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) trading platform that drove momentum in the local bourse on Wednesday.
Equities investors saw more than N598 billion as the Nigerian Exchange all-share index (NGX) rose by 0.56%, extending the ongoing rally as bullish sentiment continued to dominate trading activity.
The benchmark NGX All-Share Index advanced by 56 basis points to close at 166,771.95 points, reflecting a market fuelled by firm investor confidence.
The market strengthened further due to gains in SEPLAT, MBENEFIT, CHAMPION, ARADEL, TRANSCORP, ZENITHBANK, VITAFOAM, FIRSTHOLDCO, DANGSUGAR, NGXGROUP and 37 other top-performing stocks.
As a result, the year-to-date return improved to 7.17%, while market capitalisation rose by 0.56% to ₦106.78 trillion, translating to a ₦598.41 billion increase in investor wealth.
Sectoral performance was majorly positive, with four of the five tracked indices closing high. The Oil & Gas index led the gainers, up 6.26%, due to sustained interest in SEPLAT, ARADEL and JAPAULGOLD.
In tandem, the Insurance index gained 0.78%, driven by MBENEFIT and AIICO, while the Banking index added 0.05% on the back of appreciations in JAIZBANK, ZENITHBANK and FIRSTHOLDCO.
Also, the Industrial Goods index edged higher by 0.01%, buoyed by gains in CAVERTON and CWG. Meanwhile, the Consumer Goods (-0.2%) Index was the sole laggard, weighed down by losses in PZ, NASCON, HONYFLOUR and INTBREW.
Market activity was negative, as traded volume and value depreciated by 32.64% and 11.03% to 761.94 million units and ₦29.85 billion, respectively.
The market breadth, which measures investor sentiment through the gainers/losers ratio, decreased to 2.45x from 4.15x as 47 stocks appreciated, 28 stocks depreciated, and 56 stocks closed flat. Daily FX Update: Naira Falls to N1,495 in Parallel Market
