By Dipo Olowookere
The first trading session of the new week closed on a positive note at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Monday, appreciating by 1.11 per cent.
Bargain-hunting in local equities sustained the upward trend recorded during the trading session as investors locked in funds in banking and consumer goods stocks.
Data from the bourse revealed that the banking space gained 5.65 per cent, and the consumer goods sector appreciated by 1.57 per cent.
During the session, the insurance counter lost 2.81 per cent, and the industrial goods index depreciated by 0.14 per cent, while the energy space closed flat.
When trading activities were ended, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 751.95 points to 68,279.14 points from 67,527.19 points, and the market capitalisation grew by N412 billion to N37.370 trillion from N36.958 trillion.
Investor sentiment was strong yesterday after the stock market closed with 39 price advancers and 18 price decliners, implying a positive market breadth index.
Dangote Sugar improved its value by 10.00 per cent to N66.55, NASCON grew by 9.98 per cent to N61.15, John Holt appreciated by 9.92 per cent to N1.44, Oando gained 9.91 per cent to trade at N6.10, and Lasaco Assurance increased by 9.60 per cent to N2.17.
On the other side, Consolidated Hallmark Insurance lost 9.57 per cent to quote at N1.04, Cornerstone Insurance declined by 9.29 per cent to N1.27, Sunu Assurances fell by 9.09 per cent to 80 Kobo, UPDC REIT slumped by 8.22 per cent to N3.35, and NGX Group went down by 7.20 per cent to N24.50.
It was a busy market day on Monday, as the volume of trades, value of transactions, and the number of deals increased by 67.86 per cent, 88.41 per cent, and 56.90 per cent apiece.
Investors traded 845.7 million stocks worth N13.9 billion in 11,934 deals compared with the 503.8 million stocks valued at N6.9 billion traded in 7,606 deals last Friday.
Regency Alliance was the busiest equity of the session after exchanging 101.0 million units valued at N40.4 million, Fidelity Bank traded 85.1 million units for N695.0 million, Zenith Bank sold 75.4 million shares valued at N2.8 billion, UBA transacted 60.2 million units worth N930.2 million, and Transcorp exchanged 56.8 million units valued at N407.4 million.
