Buying pressure lifts NGX as market rebounds 0.31%

After four straight sessions in the red, renewed buying pressure on Thursday returned the Nigerian equities market to positive territory, with investors recording fresh gains.

The All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 0.31% to close at 141,149.04 points, up from 140,716.10 points in the previous session.

In the same vein, market capitalisation gained ₦280 billion, closing at ₦89.343 trillion, compared to ₦89.063 trillion previously.

Trading activity was upbeat, with an aggregate of 5.5 billion units of shares exchanged in 20,399 deals, valued at ₦419.7 billion.

Market breadth

The market breadth closed positive as 34 equities gained against 22 losers.

Top Gainers:

MECURE led the pack with a 9.89% rise, closing at ₦26.10 from ₦23.75.

Other strong performers included Oando and McNichols, with notable price advances.

Top Losers:

Eterna Oil topped the losers’ chart, shedding 10% to close at ₦27.90 from ₦31.00.

Sovereign Trust Insurance and The Initiates Plc also dipped by 4.84% and 3.84%, respectively.

Volume drivers

Consolidated Hallmark Holding traded about 333 million units in 103 deals, valued at ₦1.26 billion.

Sterling Bank saw 105 million units exchanged in 513 deals, worth ₦772 million.

Zenith Bank traded 46 million units in 1,094 deals, with a transaction value of ₦3 billion.