The local stock market started the week positively as the All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 0.64 per cent, closing at 98,694.80 basis points.
The overall bullish sentiment was driven by buying interest in Seplat Energy, following the Federal Government’s approval of their acquisition of Exxon Mobil’s onshore assets.
This gain, therefore, drove market capitalization up by 0.64 per cent to N59.8 trillion, adding N378.5 billion to investors’ portfolios.
Accordingly, the Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date returns printed +0.1 per cent and +32.0 per cent, respectively.
At the session’s close, 31 stocks advanced, outnumbering the 17 decliners.
On the performance board, Daar Communication, Ikeja Hotels, Seglat Energies, PZ Cusson Nigeria and Champion Breweries were notable gainers, having appreciated in share value by 10.0 per cent, 10.0 per cent, 9.99 per cent, 9.90 per cent and 9.65 per cent, respectively.
Conversely Regal Insurance, Secure Electronic Technology, C&I Leasing, Omatek Ventures and Deap Capital Management and Trust led the decliners after their respective share prices dipped by 8.20 per cent, 6.45 per cent, 5.01 per cent, 4.55 per cent and 3.82 per cent, respectively.
Strong bullish sentiment supported sectoral performance, with the banking, insurance, consumer goods, and oil/gas sectors posting gains of 0.96 per cent, 1.07 per cent, 0.22 percent, and 4.43 percent, respectively.
However, the industrial goods sector saw a slight loss of 0.04 per cent.
Trading activity was strong, with the number of deals, volume, and value increasing by 23.25 percent, 12.87 percent, and 130.46 percent, respectively.
A total of 405.02 million units were traded across 8,281 deals, valued at N27.57 billion. United Bank for Africa led trading by volume, with 138.1 million units worth N3.6 billion across 786 deals, while Seplat Energies had the highest trade value.
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