All-Share Index Climbs to 99,300 Points as Investors Gain N954bn

The Nigerian equity market closed positive last week with the All-Share Index (ASI) climbing to a new high of 99,300 points as investors gained N954 billion.

At the close of trading on Friday, the market capitalisation rose to N56.17 trillion, a 0.02 percent increase from the previous week.

This uptick was driven by a surge in trading activities, with investors trading a total of 2.19 billion shares worth N31.30 billion across 39,362 deals.

The financial services sector led the charge, dominating the activity chart with 1.91 billion shares valued at N23.92 billion exchanged in 21,717 deals.

This sector alone contributed 76.42 percent and 87.41 percent to the total stock turnover volume and value, respectively.

The oil and gas sector followed, recording 55.35 million shares worth N3.09 billion in 2,109 deals.

The agriculture industry ranked third, with a turnover of 45.09 million shares in 1,615 deals, valued at N377.62 million.

The top three equities by volume were Abbey Mortgage Bank, Access Holdings, and Zenith Bank, collectively accounting for 1.13 billion shares worth N14.91 billion in 6,494 deals. These stocks represented 51.57 percent of the total equity turnover volume and 47.64 percent of the value.

Sectoral performance was generally positive, with notable gains across various indices. The banking sector saw the highest appreciation at 8.72 percent.