By Dipo Olowookere
The market capitalisation of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) appreciated further on Friday as investors sustained their buying interest.
When the market closed for the day’s business yesterday, the value of stocks on the exchange increased by N157 billion to close at N11.562 trillion.
Also during yesterday’s session, the All-Share Index (ASI) improved by 421.96 points to settle at 31,005.17 points.
However, the market breadth ended negative with 22 price losers in contrast to 11 price gainers.
Nestle Nigeria topped the gainers’ chart with N48.90k added to its share price to finish at N1450 per share.
It was followed by Dangote Cement, which rose by N4.90k to close at N194.90k per share, and Nigerian Breweries, which appreciated by N2.25k to end at N81 per share.
CCNN increased its share value by N2.10k to settle at N25.10k per share, while Union Bank grew by 60 kobo to quote at N6.75k per share.
At the other end, it was not a better day for Beta Glass as its shares depreciated by N5.30k to settle at N55 per share.
Berger Paints fell by 85 kobo to close at N7.75k per share, while GTBank suffered 45 kobo loss to finish at N31.95k per share.
Zenith Bank declined by 20 kobo to stay at N21.50k per share, while UBA also depreciated by 20 kobo to finish at N7.30k per unit.
On the activity chart, the volume of equities transacted increased by 30.21 percent from 231 million to 300.8 million, while the value went up by 15.46 percent from N3.3 billion to N3.8 billion.
Diamond Bank remained investors’ delight at the stock market on Friday. The company traded 72.2 million units of its shares worth N151.9 million.
Zenith Bank transacted 49.7 million equities valued at N1.1 billion, while GTBank exchanged 46.3 million shares for N1.5 billion. Access Bank sold 15.9 million equities worth N90.2 million, while Fidelity Bank traded 15.5 million shares for N31.1 million.
Adedapo Adesanya