The Nigerian stock market on Wednesday sustained its bullish sentiment, adding N409 billion to investors’ portfolios, according to figures from the Nigerian Exchange Ltd.
The positive performance was driven by renewed investor interest in Okomu Oil, Union Dicon Salt, Seplat, NCR Nigeria, Mc Nicholas and 30 other stocks.
NGX market capitalisation opened at N102.275 trillion and gained N409 billion, or 0.40 per cent, to close at N102.684 trillion.
The All-Share Index also rose by 0.40 per cent, gaining 640.68 points to close at 160,591.76, from 159,951.08 recorded on Tuesday.
In spite the overall gains, market breadth closed negative, with 38 losers and 35 gainers at the end of the session.
Cadbury led the losers, shedding 10 per cent to close at N63, while Austinlaz dropped 9.93 per cent to finish at N5.08.
Aluminium Extrusion Industries declined by 9.91 per cent to N19.55, while Haldane McCall fell 9.85 per cent to close at N4.21.
FTN Cocoa Processors also dipped by 9.62 per cent, settling at N6.01 per share.
On the gainers’ chart, Seplat Energy, Okomu Oil and Union Dicon Salt rose by 10 per cent each, closing at N6,171, N1,204.50 and N8.80 respectively.
Similarly, NCR Nigeria advanced by 9.97 per cent to N79.95, while Mc Nicholas gained 9.93 per cent to close at N4.76.
An analysis of market activity showed increased volume and value, though transactions declined during the trading session.
A total of 1.44 billion shares worth N20.7 billion were traded in 49,286 deals, compared with 758.9 million shares valued at N19.9 billion in 54,212 deals on Tuesday.
Universal Insurance led volume activity with 804.11 million shares, representing 55.82 per cent of total volume traded.
Seplat Energy topped the value chart with N3.50 billion in trades, accounting for 16.90 per cent of the day’s total value.
