Investors in the Nigerian Exchange Limited extended their winning streak on Monday, as bullish trading lifted the market capitalisation by N786bn to close at N91.9tn.
The positive momentum came despite a slight decline in trading volume and turnover, driven largely by price appreciation in heavyweight stocks such as Seplat Energy Plc and AXA Mansard Insurance Plc.
At the close of trading, the All-Share Index rose by 1,238.71 points, or 0.86 per cent to settle at 144,822.75 points, marking a one-week gain of 1.89 per cent, a four-week rise of 4.2 per cent, and a year-to-date increase of 40.71 per cent.
Data from the NGX showed that investors traded a total of 519.9 million shares valued at N14.53bn across 35,467 deals. This represented a five per cent decline in volume, a 26 per cent drop in turnover, but a 31 per cent improvement in the number of deals compared with the previous trading session.
In total, 128 equities participated in trading, ending with 47 gainers and 24 losers.
Seplat Energy Plc led the gainers’ chart with a 10 per cent increase to close at N5,917.20 per share. It was followed by AXA Mansard Insurance Plc, which also gained 10 per cent to finish at N15.84 per share. Skye Shelter Fund appreciated by 9.97 per cent to close at N381.10, while Ellah Lakes Plc rose 9.95 per cent to end the session at N14.81 per share. Chams Holding Company Plc advanced 9.87 per cent to N4.23, and Omatek Ventures Plc gained 9.84 per cent to close at N1.34 per share.
On the losers’ chart, International Energy Insurance Plc led with a decline of 8.42 per cent to close at N2.72 per share. McNichols Plc followed with a loss of 8.31 per cent to finish at N3.20, while Thomas Wyatt Nigeria Plc shed 7.72 per cent to close at N2.99 per share.
Berger Paints Plc dropped 6.8 per cent to N37.00, ABC Transport Plc declined 5.81 per cent to N4.05, and C&I Leasing Plc fe 3.23 per cent to N6.00 per share.
Ellah Lakes Plc recorded the highest volume of traded shares, exchanging 80.07 million units valued at N1.18bn. Chams Holding Company Plc followed with 30.21 million shares worth N127.26m, while Sterling Bank Plc traded 24.74 million shares valued at N205.65m. Custodian & Allied Plc recorded 21.83 million shares worth N903.74m, and Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc traded 20.06 million shares valued at N1.97bn.
In terms of value, GTCO led the chart with N1.97bn worth of shares, followed by Seplat Energy Plc with N1.65bn, Aradel Holdings Plc with N1.21bn, Ellah Lakes Plc with N1.18bn, and Zenith Bank Plc with N1.12bn.
Sectoral performance was largely positive, as the Oil and Gas Index gained 3.35 per cent, the Insurance Index rose 3.13 per cent, the Premium Index advanced 2.06 per cent, the Pension Index appreciated 1.23 per cent, and the Banking Index closed 0.64 per cent higher.
Market analysts attributed the sustained rally to strong investor sentiment in fundamentally sound stocks and renewed interest in oil and insurance equities, which continued to benefit from favourable sector dynamics.
Last week, the Nigerian Exchange Limited closed the first week of October on a positive note as investors gained N1.18tn in a four-day trading week, despite the Federal Government declaring Wednesday, October 1, a public holiday to mark Independence Day. The All-Share Index rose 1.02 per cent to close at 143,584.04 points, while market capitalisation appreciated 1.31 per cent to settle at N91.135tn, compared to N89.955tn in the previous week.
