Nigeria’s stock market soars above 66k points — highest level ever

Nigerian stocks gained on Tuesday as the all share index (ASI), which measures the overall performance of equities, hits its highest level ever.

The ASI of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) rose by 0.51 percent to 66,490.34 basis points from 66,151.38 recorded the previous day.

The new record also surpassed the high of 66,371.2 basis points, set more than 15 years ago on March 5, 2008.

Additionally,  the market capitalisation saw a remarkable increase, closing at N39.69 trillion from N36.21 trillion on Monday.

As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was positive, as 34 tickers gained relative to 32 losers.

On the performance board, Champion Breweries and Flour Mills of Nigeria topped the gainers’ list having appreciated in share value by 10.0 per cent, respectively, while CWG and Linkage Assurance recorded the highest losses of the day after their respective share prices dipped by 10.0 percent.

The sectoral performance at the local bourse on Tuesday was upbeat as three of the five indices tracked closed in positive territory: the NGX Banking, NGX Consumer Goods, and NGX Industrial indices climbed by 1.63 percent, 0.99 percent, and 0.21 percent, respectively.

On the flip side, the NGX Insurance and NGX Industrial indexes moderated by 1.56 percent and 0.09 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, market activity was robust, with total deals, volume, and value increasing by 10.27 per cent, 40.45 percent, and 79.14 percent, respectively, amounting to 7,932 trades, 436.96 million units, and N7.01 billion.

In terms of volume, FBN Holdings emerged as the most actively traded stock, with 55.15 million shares worth N911.21 million changing hands in 288 deals.

Japaul’s shares of 33.1 million units, priced at N29.9 million, exchanged hands in 127 transactions.

United Bank for Africa (UBA) had 30.2 million shares valued at N412.2 million traded in 506 deals. 

Access Holdings traded 25.4 million shares estimated at N414.4 million in 452 transactions and Transcorp traded 18.2 million shares valued at N127.7 million in 181 deals.