The Nigerian Exchange Limited, formerly known as the Nigerian Stock Exchange, continued its upward trajectory on Thursday with a significant N75bn gain for investors.
The positive performance was reflected in the 0.26 per cent or 138.26 base points increase in the All-Share Index, which closed at 52,235.88. Similarly, the market capitalisation appreciated by 0.26 per cent to N28.442tn.
The stock market’s positive performance was largely driven by buying interest in Bua Foods, which recorded a 5.88 per cent increase as well as Zenith Bank and Stanbic, which gained 1.11 per cent and 0.54 per cent, respectively.
However, losses in Nigerian Breweries (-10.00 per cent), Wapco (-0.83 per cent), and GTCO (-0.40 per cent) partly offset the market’s gains.
Despite the overall gain, market activities showed that trade turnover moderated relative to the previous session. The volume and value of transactions went down by 63.96 per cent and 9.52 per cent, respectively, compared to the previous trading day.
In total, 2.33bn units of shares valued at N17.62bn were exchanged in 6,958 deals, indicating that investors were cautious in their trading activities. Nonetheless, the positive performance of the Nigerian stock market provides some optimism to investors, who hope for a sustained rally in the coming days.