- Odibo Victory
The Nigerian stock market has closed the week on a positive note, with investors recording a N1.383 trillion increase in market capitalisation, driven by sustained interest in blue-chip stocks.
Market capitalisation rose by 0.90 per cent, gaining N1.383 trillion from N154.442 trillion to N155.825 trillion.
The All-Share Index (ASI) also advanced by 2,142.38 points, or 0.90 per cent, from 239,156.09 to 241,298.47.
The positive performance was supported by gains recorded in Seplat Energy, Transcorp Hotels, Omatek Ventures, Daar Communications, University Press and 27 other stocks.
With the latest gains, the market’s Year-to-Date (YtD) return improved to 55.06 per cent.
Market breadth remained positive, with 33 stocks recording gains against 19 decliners.
Seplat Energy topped the gainers’ list, appreciating by 10 per cent to close at N12,320.60 per share.
Transcorp Hotels rose by 9.76 per cent to N265.50, while Omatek Ventures gained 9.49 per cent to settle at N1.50 per share.
Daar Communications appreciated by 9.42 per cent to N1.51, while University Press increased by 8.57 per cent to N5.70 per share.
On the losing side, Total led the decliners with a 10 per cent drop, closing at N576 per share.
Haldane McCall declined by 8.78 per cent to N3.74, while Etranzact shed 8.62 per cent to close at N13.25 per share.
Austinlaz fell by 7.41 per cent to N2.50, while AVA Capital declined by 7.14 per cent to N6.50 per share.
Trading activity also increased during the session, as 605.17 million shares valued at N29.87 billion were exchanged in 38,421 deals.
This compared with 499.96 million shares worth N35.15 billion traded in 40,323 transactions on Thursday.
The volume of shares traded consequently increased by 21.04 per cent.
Jaiz Bank emerged as the most traded stock by volume, with 210.71 million shares, representing 34.82 per cent of the total volume traded.
Transcorp Hotels recorded the highest value of transactions at N6.00 billion, accounting for 20.08 per cent of the total value traded.