By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited continued its positive run on Thursday with a 0.77 per cent growth as its year-to-date (YtD) return increased to 35.41 per cent.
This means that the nation’s stock market has grown above the inflation rate of 34.60 per cent recorded in November 2024, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), and a benchmark interest of 27.50 per cent.
Business Post reports that the local bourse has remained resilient amid the challenging business environment in Nigeria, giving investors succour.
Yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 770.56 points to 101,248.02 points from 100,477.46 points and the market capitalisation increased by N467 billion to close at N61.375 trillion compared with Wednesday’s N60.908 trillion.
There were 47 appreciating shares and 17 depreciating shares on Thursday, representing a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
Honeywell Flour, UAC Nigeria and Aradel Holdings gained 10.00 per cent each to close at N5.50, N27.50, and N730.40 apiece, NAHCO expanded by 9.96 per cent to N41.95, and MRS Oil rose by 9.96 per cent to N175.60.
Conversely, Tantalizers declined by 9.77 per cent to N1.57, Multiverse slumped by 9.73 per cent to N5.10, John Holt lost 9.73 per cent to trade at N5.88, Caverton crashed by 7.78 per cent to N2.26, and Omatek shrank by 7.35 per cent to 63 Kobo.
A total of 411.4 million stocks valued at N26.3 million exchanged hands in 10,260 deals during the session versus the 389.7 million stocks worth N9.2 billion transacted in 9,573 deals at midweek, implying a jump in the trading volume, value and number of deals by 5.57 per cent, 185.87 per cent and 7.18 per cent, respectively.
The most traded equity for the day was Universal Insurance with 38.2 million units valued at N14.9 million, AIICO traded 21.0 million units worth N31.2 million, GTCO transacted 20.4 million units for N1.1 billion, UBA exchanged 18.6 million units worth N623.0 million, and Prestige Assurance sold 15.6 million units valued at N12.6 million.
When the market closed for the session at 2:30 pm, the insurance index was up by 3.79 per cent, the banking sector grew by 0.73 per cent, the consumer goods counter improved by 0.69 per cent, and the energy space rose by 0.32 per cent, while the industrial goods sector depreciated by 0.63 per cent.