By Oluyinka Onigbinde
Trading activity on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) ended the week on a stronger note on Friday, with market volume surging 370 percent compared with the previous trading session as investors exchanged more than two billion shares.
A total of 2.04 billion shares worth ₦34.88 billion changed hands in 42,636 deals at the close of trading. Compared with Thursday’s session, turnover also increased by 19 percent.
The NGX’s total market capitalisation stood at approximately ₦159.5 trillion, equivalent to about $121 billion.
Despite the heavy trading activity, market breadth remained mixed. Of the 133 equities that participated in trading, 29 stocks gained, while 31 declined.
Abbey Bank leads gainers
Abbey Bank emerged as the day’s strongest performer, gaining 10 percent to close at ₦7.70 per share.
It was followed by Royal Exchange, which also advanced 10 percent, while Nigerian Breweries gained 9.93 percent and John Holt Plc rose 9.89 percent.
On the decliners’ list, Red Star Express Plc recorded the steepest fall, shedding 10 percent to close at ₦13.95 per share. Haldane McCall also declined 10 percent, while Industrial & Medical Gases and Juli Plc fell 9.97 percent and 9.66 percent, respectively.
Fortis Global Insurance dominates volume
Trading volume was heavily concentrated in Fortis Global Insurance, which recorded approximately 1.45 billion shares, accounting for the bulk of the day’s transactions.
United Bank for Africa (UBA) followed with 112 million shares, while Consolidated Hallmark Holdings recorded 52.8 million shares. Zenith Bank Plc rounded out the most actively traded stocks with about 31 million shares.
NGX index ends week in positive territory
The benchmark NGX All-Share Index (ASI) gained 604.22 points, representing a 0.25 percent increase, to close at 246,992.44.
The latest advance pushed the index’s gains to 2.36 percent over the past week, 0.73 percent over four weeks, and an impressive 58.72 percent year to date.
Several sectoral indices also closed higher. The NGX Consumer Goods Index led Friday’s sectoral advances with a 1.28 percent gain, followed by the NGX Oil & Gas Index, which rose 1.12 percent.
The NGX Pension Index gained 0.54 percent, while the NGX Main Board Index and NGX Banking Index advanced 0.47 percent and 0.44 percent, respectively. The NGX Top 30 Index also increased by 0.29 percent.
The strongest year-to-date performance came from the NGX Oil & Gas Index, up 111.86 percent, while the NGX Pension Index gained 81.77 percent and the NGX Banking Index advanced 73.9 percent.
Friday’s session therefore capped a broadly positive week for Nigerian equities, with the benchmark index maintaining its strong year-to-date performance amid a sharp increase in trading activity.
