Nigerian Stock Market Rebounds with N25.72bn Gain, Led by Insurance Stocks

The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) rebounded on Tuesday from the previous day’s losses with a gain of N25.72 billion.

This rebound was primarily driven by significant appreciation in the shares of Cornerstone Insurance, Jaiz Bank, Wapic Insurance, and 19 other stocks.

The market capitalisation rose by 0.05 percent to close at N56.61 trillion, while the All Share Index (ASI) increased to 100,067.77 points.

Insurance stocks were at the forefront of this recovery. Cornerstone Insurance led the gainers’ chart with a 10 percent increase to settle at N2.09 per share.

Jaiz Bank followed closely with a 9.95 percent rise to N2.21, and Wapic Insurance saw a 9.59 percent boost, ending the day at N0.80 per share.

Despite the overall positive trend, the market witnessed bearish activity, with 22 stocks recording gains and 24 stocks registering losses.

Leading the losers’ chart were RT Briscoe, which suffered a 9.86 percent decline to close at N0.64, Cutix Plc with a 6.82 percent drop to N4.01, and C & I Leasing Plc, which fell by 6.25 percent to N3.00.

In terms of trading volume, Universal Insurance recorded the highest activity with 61.52 million traded shares. AIICO Insurance followed with 31.72 million shares, and United Bank for Africa (UBA) saw 25.85 million shares traded.

Sectoral performance was mixed, with three out of the five tracked indices closing in the red. The NGX Consumer Goods index fell by 0.34 percent, NGX Oil/Gas by 0.03 percent, and NGX Industrial Goods by 0.01 percent.

However, the NGX Banking index posted a 0.79 percent increase, driven by share price gains in major banks such as AccessCorp, Zenith, UBA, and GTCO. Additionally, the NGX Insurance index recorded a 1.99 percent gain.

Market activity was robust, with the total volume and value of trades rising by 33.11 percent and 10.86 percent, respectively, amounting to 365.64 trades worth N4.12 billion.

However, the total number of deals decreased by 14.31 percent, totaling 8,665 trades.

This recovery follows a bearish start to the week and month on Monday, where the NGX-ASI fell by 0.4 percent to 100,020.83 points due to sell pressure on major stocks such as Zenith Bank, UBA, and Nigerian Breweries.

The positive performance of insurance and banking stocks played a crucial role in reversing the market’s fortunes.

Investors remain hopeful that this upward trend will continue, bolstered by strong performances in these sectors.