Equities trading at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX) in the first month of the year was bullish as the All Share Index (ASI) advanced by 3.88 per cent to close January at 53,238.67 basis points (bps) as against the year opening of 51.251.06 bps.
Equities investors, therefore, gained N1.083 trillion as the market capitalisation settled at N28,998 trillion as against an N27.915 trillion it recorded on the last trading activity in year 2022.
Closing the first month in January on Tuesday, the local bourse closed higher as the benchmark index gained 0.15 per cent to settle at 53,238.67 basis points.
Sentiment remained positive in the market as investors demanded more insurance and industrial stocks. Hence, tickers such as Geregu, Wapic Insurance, Lasaco Insurance, Mutual Benefits Assurance, CAP and Cutix advanced by 10.00 per cent, 9.76 per cent, 9.57 per cent, 5.41 per cent, and 0.98 per cent, respectively.
As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was positive, as 29 tickers gained relative to 18 losers. Geregu and Living Trust recorded the highest gains of the day having appreciated in share value by 10.0 per cent, respectively, while NCR and Chams topped the losers’ list after their respective share prices dipped by 10.0 percent.
Sectoral performance was a mixed bag as the NGX Banking and NGX Consumer Goods indices fell by 0.03 per cent and 0.17 per cent, respectively, while the NGX Insurance and NGX Industrial indices rose by 2.98 per cent and 0.03 per cent, respectively. The NGX Oil/Gas stayed flat from the previous trading day.
In the broader market, the NGX Premium index was flat, while the NGX-30 index rose by two basis points.
Analysis of market activities on Tuesday showed trade turnover settled higher relative to the previous session, with the value of transactions up by 3.86 per cent.
A total of 250.19 million shares valued at N5.88 billion were exchanged in 4,328 deals. Guaranty Trust Holding Company led the volume chart with 14.16 million units traded, while Airtel Africa led the value chart in deals worth N3.31 billion.
