The bulls maintained a firm grip on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) as a rally in blue-chip stocks pushed investors’ wealth higher by N1.2 trillion within three consecutive trading sessions.
Market capitalisation of listed equities surged by N1.205 trillion, a 1.8 percent increase from N66.069 trillion at the opening of trading on Monday to N67.274 trillion by the close of session on Wednesday.
Simultaneously, the All-Share Index (ASI) advanced by 1,247.54 points or 1.8 percent from 106,574.98 points to 107,822.52 points.
The uptrend was largely driven by strong performances in medium and large-cap stocks, including Presco, Transcorp Power, Dangote Cement, Transcorp Hotels and VFD Group.
Investor sentiment remained upbeat as market breadth reflected a positive outlook with 51 stocks advancing against 16 decliners.
Leading the gainers’ chart, Ikeja Hotels and VFD Group surged by 10 percent each to close at N14.85 and N52.80 per share, respectively.
Transcorp Hotels and Honeywell Flour Mills also recorded gains of 9.99 percent each to settle at N126.10 and N12.66 per share. Eterna followed closely with a 9.93 percent increase to N48.70 per share.
On the flip side, CWG topped the losers’ chart with an 8.95 percent decline to settle at N8.65. Regency Alliance Insurance fell by 7.89 percent to N0.70 while LASACO Assurance shed 7.25 percent to N3.20 per share.
Also, Royal Exchange depreciated by 7.22 percent to N0.90 and SCOA Nigeria dropped 6.54 percent to N3.43 per share.
Market activity showed a slight dip, with total volume traded declining by 7.52 percent to 462.145 million units, valued at N10.233 billion, exchanged in 15,629 deals. Sterling Financial Holdings Company led trading volume with 49.612 million shares worth N296.815 million.
Ellah Lakes followed, recording 34.505 million shares valued at N133.924 million while Zenith Bank traded 25.55 million shares valued at N1.308 billion.
Access Holdings exchanged 19.59 million shares for N553.68 million and AIICO Insurance sold 18.492 million shares worth N32.203 million.
The latest performance showed investors’ confidence in the equities market with blue-chip stocks driving significant gains and sustaining the positive momentum on the NGX.
