Emmanuel Ochayi
The bulls took charge of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) equities sector, propelling it to significant gains on the back of NASCON Allied Industries Plc, Wema and a rally in 22 other stocks on Thursday.
The market witnessed an upswing, with the All-Share Index (ASI) surging by 87.91 points, marking a 0.13% increase to reach 66,570.19 points. Notably, this upward momentum pushed the total market capitalization up by a staggering N141 billion, now standing at N36.527 trillion.
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This remarkable resurgence was largely driven by robust price appreciation in both large and medium-capitalized stocks, featuring NASCON Allied Industries, Vitafoam Nigeria, Julius Berger, Dangote Sugar Refinery, and GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria.
With market breadth concluding positively, 24 stocks advanced while 19 recorded declines. Wema Bank led the way as the highest price gainer, surging by an impressive 9.93% to close at N4.65, followed closely by Thomas Wyatt Nigeria, which gained 9.74% to close at N2.14 kobo.
Regency Alliance Insurance also showed strength, advancing by 8.82% to close at 37 kobo. Royal Exchange and DAAR Communications both rose by 8.70% each, closing at 50 kobo and 25 kobo, respectively.
Among the losers, Champion Breweries experienced the most decline, with a 9.87% decrease to close at N3.38 kobo. Chellarams followed closely behind, recording a decline of 9.84% to close at N3.48, while Associated Bus Company shed 9.72% to close at 65 kobo. UACN Property Development Company (UPDC) and McNichols also saw losses of 8.57% and 7.69%, respectively.
Trading volume exhibited robust growth, increasing by 54.27% to reach 1.014 billion units, valued at N4.733 billion, across 6,959 deals. Notably, Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals dominated the trading activity with 657.095 million shares worth N985.650 million, closely followed by Oando with 75.146 million shares valued at N771.244 million.
Universal Insurance contributed to the active trading with 47.225 million shares valued at N11.203 million. Fidelity Bank and Sterling Financial Holdings Company also featured prominently, trading 35.143 million shares worth N288.092 million and 24.430 million shares worth N87.370 million, respectively.
