Dipo Olowookere
By Dipo Olowookere
The positive momentum witnessed at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited was sustained on Tuesday as the market indices further appreciated by 0.86 per cent at the close of business.
It was observed that persistent buy pressure contributed to the growth recorded by the local bourse during the session, with gains seen across most of the sectors.
The banking counter appreciated by 1.68 per cent, the industrial goods sector rose by 1.40 per cent, the energy space expanded by 0.41 per cent, and the insurance index grew by 0.28 per cent, while the consumer goods ecosystem went down by 0.09 per cent.
The All-Share Index (ASI) closed higher by 477.84 points to 55,806.26 points from 55,328.42 points, as the market capitalisation increased by N261 billion to N30.401 trillion from N30.140 trillion.
As for the market breadth, it was positive as there were 36 appreciating stocks and 10 depreciating equities, representing a strong investor sentiment.
The highest price gainer was MRS Oil as it grew by 10.00 per cent to settle at N36.85, as Stanbic IBTC gained 9.88 per cent to end at N41.70, C & I Leasing rose by 9.64 per cent to N3.98, Oando improved by 9.09 per cent to N4.80, and McNichols increased by 9.09 per cent to 72 Kobo.
On the flip side, Multiverse was the heaviest price decliner as it fell by 10.00 per cent to N3.96, CWG lost 9.09 per cent to trade at 90 Kobo, Flour Mills shed 8.44 per cent to sell at N32.00, Chams declined by 7.14 per cent to 26 Kobo, RT Briscoe decreased by 3.57 per cent to 27 Kobo.
On the activity chart, Fidelity Bank was the most active as it transacted 40.0 million stocks, Zenith Bank exchanged 34.3 million shares, Oando sold 22.6 million equities, Transcorp traded 17.8 million shares, and GTCO transacted 10.4 million stocks.
Business Post reports that when trading activities ended, a total of 237.2 million equities worth N4.4 billion exchanged hands in 4,435 deals during the session versus the 149.8 million equities worth N1.5 billion transacted in 3,186 deals on Monday, indicating an improvement in the trading volume, value and the number of deals by 58.35 per cent, 193.3 per cent, and 39.20 per cent, respectively.
