The equities market sustained its upward momentum on Friday, closing the week on a strong note as investors gained N1.857 trillion.
This represents the 14th consecutive session of gains on the local bourse.
Price appreciation in companies such as Academy Press, UPDC, Haldane McCall, Zichis Agro Allied Industries, Wema Bank, and 38 other stocks helped push the market into positive territory.
As a result, market capitalisation rose to N145.334 trillion from N143.477 trillion, representing a 1.29 per cent increase or N1.857 trillion gain.
Similarly, the All-Share Index climbed by 2,884.81 points, or 1.29 per cent, to close at 225,722.49, compared to 222,837.68 recorded in the previous session on Thursday.
The sustained rally further strengthened the year-to-date return, while market breadth also closed positive, with 43 gainers against 26 losers.
On the gainers’ chart, Academy Press and UPDC led by 10 per cent, settling at N7.70 and N4.40 per share.
Also, Haldane McCall gained by 9.97 per cent, finishing at N3.97, Zichis Agro Allied Industries grew by 9.94 per cent, closing at N15.60 and Wema Bank increased by 9.84 per cent, ending the session at N31.25 per share.
On the flip side, Meyer led the losers’ chart by 9.92 per cent, closing at N16.80, Trans-Nationwide Express followed by 9.30 per cent, ending the session at N7.90 while Cileasing shed by 8.53 per cent, finishing at N5.90 per share.
Similarly, Omatek Ventures went down by 7.34 per cent, settling at N2.02 and E-Tranzact declined by 5.28 per cent, closing at N17.05 per share.
Analysis of the market revealed six per cent decline in volume, four per cent increase in deals and 17 per cent growth in value
A total of 627.6 million shares valued at N44.5 billion were traded in 55,232 transactions, compared to the previous session’s 667.9 million shares worth N38.12 billion that was exchanged across 53,062 deals.
Meanwhile, Access Corporation emerged as the most traded stock by volume, with 75.62 million shares exchanged, representing 12.05 per cent of the total volume for the day.
MTN Nigeria led in value terms, recording transactions worth N8.20 billion, which accounted for 18.42 per cent of the total value traded.
