Investors in the nation’s stock market gained N60bn on Monday as Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc and 30 other firms recorded price appreciation.
The Nigerian Stock Exchange All-Share Index rose by 0.33 per cent to close at 40,571.67 basis points on Monday from 40,439.85bps on Friday.
The market capitalisation of listed equities increased by N60bn to N21.22tn from the N21.16tn at which it closed last week.
The top five gainers at the end of trading on the floor of the NSE on Monday were Seplat, Japaul Gold & Ventures Plc, Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc, AIICO Insurance Plc and Multiverse Mining and Exploration Plc.
Seplat appreciated by 10 per cent to close at N544.50 per share while Japaul Gold & Ventures rose by 9.86 per cent to close at N0.78 per share.
Mutual Benefit Assurance grew by 9.52 per cent to N0.46 per share; AIICO increased by 9.26 per cent to N1.18 per share, while Multiverse gained 9.09 per cent to close at N0.24 per share.
Thirteen stocks recorded losses at the end of trading on Monday, with Conoil Plc, Royal Exchange Plc, R.T. Briscoe Nigeria Plc, Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc, and Sovereign Trust Insurance emerging the biggest losers.
Conoil and Royal Exchange shed 10 per cent each to close at N18.90 and N0.27 per share respectively.
RT Briscoe fell by 9.09 per cent to close at N0.20 per share; CHI lost 8.7 per cent to close at N0.42 per share, while Sovereign Trust Insurance declined by 7.69 per cent to close at N0.24 per share.
Analysts at Cordros Capital Limited noted that trading in the domestic equities market started the week on a positive note, following buying interests in Seplat, Lafarge Africa Plc and Tier-1 banking stocks.
They said the month-to-date loss moderated to -4.3 per cent, while the year-to-date gain increased to +0.8 per cent.
The analysts said, “The total volume of trades declined by 47.9 per cent to 206.24 million units, valued at N2.16bn, and exchanged in 4,264 deals. Zenith Bank was the most traded stock by volume and value at 21.51 million units and N539.62m respectively.
“Performance across sectors was broadly positive, following gains in the oil and gas (+5.4 per cent), banking (+1.8 per cent), insurance (+1.4 per cent) and industrial goods (+0.4 per cent) indices. The consumer goods index was flat.”
