At the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on Thursday, sentiments in the domestic equities market turned positive as the All-Share Index (ASI) inched higher by 0.3 per cent to close at 52,752.96 basis points.
The bullish performance was supported by bargain-hunting in Geregu, having appreciated in share value by 10.0 per cent.
Also, market gains in Tier-1 banking names, Zenith Bank, Stanbic IBTC and Access Holdings buoyed the broader index as the share prices of 0.82 per cent, 1.54 per cent and 4.44 per cent, respectively.
Accordingly, the Year-to-Date return increased to +2.9 per cent.
Equities investors, therefore, earned N83.51 billion as the market capitalisation closed the day at N28.73 trillion.
As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was positive, as 25 tickers gained relative to 7 losers. On the performance board, Geregu and Wapic Insurance recorded the highest gains of the day as their respective share prices went up by 10.0 per cent and 9.8 per cent, while RTBriscoe and Royal Exchange topped the losers’ list after their respective share prices dropped by 9.1 per cent and 8.2 per cent, respectively.
Sectorial performance was strong as the NGX Banking, NGX Insurance, NGX Consumer Goods, and NGX Oil/Gas indices climbed by 1.58 per cent, 1.01 per cent, 0.05 per cent, and 1.58 per cent, respectively. On the flip side, the NGX Industrial Index fell marginally by 0.01 per cent.
In the broader market, the NGX Premium index and the NGX-30 index advanced by 19 basis points and 15 basis points respectively.
Analysis of market activities showed trade turnover settled lower relative to the previous session, with the value of transactions down by 24.84 per cent.
A total of 139.68 million shares valued at N2.02 billion were exchanged in 3,549 deals. Guaranty Trust Holdings Company led the volume and value charts with 17.79 million units traded in deals worth N433.18 million.
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