Stock Market Hits 2008 High as Investors Hunt for Value
Equities market capitalisation spikes to near N29 trillion level as Nigerian Exchange (NGX) continues to gather momentum following improved market sentiments.
On Friday, the market closed positively as price upticks in bellwether stocks drove the NGX All Share Index up by 2.55% to close at 54,213.09 points, a level seen last in 2008.
Overall, equities market capitalisation increased by N847 billion to N28.68 trillion as investors shrug off Moody’s downgrade of Nigeria’s sovereign rating last week. Instead, the market experienced strong buying interest throughout the week amidst earnings releases, according to data from the Nigerian Exchange.
Year to date, market return advanced to 5.78% following a 5.7% gain in MTNN, a 14.6% price surge in BUAFOODS, a 2.2% uptick in DANGCEM and a 1.5% jump in AIRTELAF. Activity level varied as the average volume traded fell 0.5% month on month to 221.7 million units while the average value traded rose 39.8% month on month to ₦4.6 billion.
GEREGU (431.8m units), ACCESSCORP (329.2m units), and TRANSCORP (326.8m units) were the top traded stocks by volume while GEREGU (₦58.4bn), GTCO (₦6.9bn), and AIRTELAF (₦4.7bn) led by value.
Key market performers were MTNN (+5.7%), GEREGU (+36.9%), and SEPLAT (+11.8%). Sectoral performance was broadly positive. The Oil and Gas index gained 9.2% followed by the Banking index which added 2.5%. The Insurance came at 0.3% and the Industrial Goods index popped up by 0.1%.
On the flip side, the Consumer Goods index declined 0.4%; the sole loser for the week. At the close of the market, market index printed breached 54,000 points, a 14-year high since 2008 following solid buying momentum.
The level of trading activity in the equity market continued with strong momentum for another week, with the total deals for the week inching northward by 11.43% week on week to 20,333, according to Cowry Asset Management.
Stockbrokers recorded a massive 400.7% surge in trade volumes to 3.79 billion and valued at N21.62 billion, indicating an increase of 119.32% week on week. # Stock Market Hits 2008 High as Investors Hunt for Value
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