On Monday, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) experienced a N138 billion increase in market capitalization, driven by strong performances from Lafarge Africa, VFD Group, and other stocks. The market started December on a positive note, with key performance indicators rising by 0.23%.
Deal hunting in medium- and large-cap companies across main sectors propelled the All-Share Index’s 226.99-point increase to close at 97,733.86. Stockbrokers claim that the market is positioned for possibilities in 2024 due to investor and portfolio manager interest in fundamentally sound stocks.
Trading activity showed some decline, with total volume and value dropping by 12.48% and 32.70%, respectively. Approximately 451.17 million shares worth N10.15 billion were traded across 9,329 deals, according to Atlass Portfolios Limited.
Top Trades and Market Highlights
- Volume Leaders: JAPAULGOLD accounted for 15.97% of the total volume traded, followed by UBA (15.05%), ACCESSCORP (11.89%), WAPCO (4.72%), and GTCO (4.64%).
- Value Leaders: UBA dominated in value terms, contributing 22.01% of the total trade value.
- Gainers: ABBEYBDS, AFRIPRUD, and WAPCO led the advancers with a 10% price increase each. Other notable gainers included VFDGROUP (+9.88%), SOVRENINS (+9.59%), and TANTALIZER (+9.57%).
- Decliners: ETRANSACT topped the losers’ list with a 10% price drop, followed by FTNCOCOA (-8.29%) and HONYFLOUR (-5.92%).
Sector Performance
The NGX ended the day with a positive market breadth, recording 36 gainers against 25 losers. All major market sectors saw gains, led by the insurance sector (+2.14%), followed by industrials (+0.89%), consumer goods (+0.67%), oil & gas (+0.37%), and banking (+0.08%).
The market capitalisation of stocks increased by N137.60 billion overall, closing at N59.25 trillion.
