The Nigerian Exchange closed the week on a positive note as market capitalisation appreciated by N425 billion on Friday, reversing the losses recorded earlier in the week.
At the end of trading, the market capitalisation of listed equities stood at N89.2tn, compared to N88.8 trillion on Thursday. The benchmark All-Share Index climbed by 671.70 points, or 0.48 per cent, to close at 141,004.14. This marked a one-week loss of 2.51 per cent, a four-week gain of 4.87 per cent, and an overall year-to-date return of 37 per cent.
Trading activity was upbeat as a total of 767.7 million shares valued at N25.2 billion were exchanged in 25,897 deals. This represented a 34 per cent improvement in volume and a 96 per cent rise in turnover compared with the previous trading day.
In aggregate, 127 equities participated in trading, ending with 52 gainers and 13 losers. Beta Glass Company topped the gainers’ chart with a 10 per cent rise to close at N449.35 per share. UPDC gained 10 per cent to finish at N6.93, FTN Cocoa Processors rose by 10 per cent to N6.60, while Veritas Kapital Assurance also appreciated by 10 per cent to close at N1.98.
On the losing side, Thomas Wyatt Nigeria recorded the steepest decline of 9.91 per cent to close at N3.00 per share. McNichols shed 7.51 per cent to end at N3.20, The Initiates lost 4.43 per cent to close at N12.30, while E-Tranzact International dipped by 3.98 per cent to finish at N10.85.
In terms of volume, FCMB Group led with 136m traded shares, followed by Aiico Insurance with 43.7m, Nigerian Breweries with 43.3m, and Wapic Insurance with 33.3m.
Sectoral performance was equally strong. The Insurance Index rose by 7.06 per cent to close the week, with a year-to-date gain of 80.62 per cent.
The Consumer Goods Index advanced by 1.08 per cent, bringing its year-to-date return to 85.89 per cent. The Banking Index improved by 0.83 per cent despite a one-week decline of 3.48 per cent, while the Main Board Index climbed 0.67 per cent, and the Pension Index added 0.65 per cent.
