Financial, Oil Stocks Lift NGX Market Cap to N158.4tn

By Chibuzor Alli

Financial and oil stocks lifted the Nigerian Exchange on Tuesday, pushing total market capitalisation up by N650bn to N158.40tn.

Market capitalisation rose from N157.75tn recorded in the previous trading session, while the benchmark All-Share Index gained 2,081.41 points to close at 244,304.51 points.

The index reached its highest level since the market recorded a weekly low of 242,223.10 points on 9 September.

Trading activity was also strong, with 520.65 million shares worth about N158.40tn traded in 71,977 deals, as investors maintained interest in major financial and energy stocks.

The market’s broad performance reflected gains across several key sectors.

The NGX Premium Index rose to 30,275.09 points, while the NGX 30 Index closed at 8,989.03 points.

The NGX Oil and Gas Index climbed to 6,035.23 points, while the NGX Consumer Goods Index rose to 4,081.31 points.

The NGX Banking Index also advanced to 2,548.00 points.

However, the gains were partly moderated by declines in the NGX Insurance Index, which fell to 1,051.62 points, and the NGX Industrial Index, which slipped to 9,936.57 points.

Investors continued to factor in macroeconomic pressures after the Central Bank of Nigeria retained its Monetary Policy Rate at 26.50 per cent.

NGX Group leads gainers

Nigerian Exchange Group Plc led the gainers, rising by 9.95 per cent to close at N179.00 per share.

Aradel Holdings Plc followed with a 9.62 per cent gain, adding N136.00 to close at N1,550.00 per share.

Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc gained 9.50 per cent to N1.96, while McNichols Consolidated Plc rose 9.09 per cent to N4.80.

International Breweries Plc also advanced by 8.50 per cent to N10.85 per share.

Ecobank leads losers

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated recorded the biggest decline, falling by 10.00 per cent to close at N66.60 per share.

Trans-Nationwide Express Plc declined by 9.93 per cent to N2.45, while AVA Capital Plc lost 9.90 per cent to close at N4.55.

PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc fell by 9.52 per cent to N75.10 per share.

BUA Cement Plc also declined by 2.91 per cent to N270.00 per share.

ETF and bond trading

Trading in the Exchange-Traded Funds and fixed-income segments was moderate.

SIAML Pension ETF 40 gained 9.69 per cent to close at N2,190.00 per share, while Lotus Halal Equity ETF rose by 7.55 per cent to N129.46.

In the debt market, investors traded 12,012 units of bonds across five deals.

The 17.121 per cent FGS JUN 2028 bond recorded a 1.00 per cent price decline to N99.00 per unit.