The Nigerian capital market experienced a surge of enthusiasm on Tuesday as the All-Share Index (ASI) of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) soared to a 15-year high.
The ASI increased by 0.51% to reach 66,490.34 points, surpassing the previous highest value of 66,371.20 recorded on March 5, 2008.
This remarkable performance was attributed, in part, to a notable surge in banking stocks, as investors seized the opportunity to capitalize on the recent record-breaking earnings reported by banks.
Consequently, the market capitalization witnessed a 0.51% increase, closing at N39.69 trillion compared to N36.21 trillion on the previous trading day.
Investors reaped impressive gains of N510 billion over just two trading sessions. Among the various sectoral indices, the NGX Banking Index demonstrated the most significant daily gain, rising by 1.63%.
The NGX Consumer Goods Index followed closely with a 0.99% increase, and the NGX Industrial Index witnessed a 0.21% uptick.
Conversely, the NGX Oil/Gas Index saw a 0.09% dip, and the NGX Insurance Index experienced a substantial decline of 1.56%, primarily attributed to investors reallocating their funds.
A comprehensive analysis of Tuesday’s market activities revealed a substantial surge in trade turnover compared to the previous session, with transaction values increasing by a noteworthy 79.18%.
As a result, the total volume of stocks traded reached 436.95 million units, valued at N7.02 billion, spanning 7,933 deals.
This marked a significant surge from the 311.12 million units valued at N3.92 billion traded across 7,193 deals on Monday.
Leading the activity chart was FBN Holdings, with a total of 55.15 million units traded, amounting to N911.21 million.
In close pursuit was Japaul Gold, which transacted 33.11 million units valued at N29.92 million, followed by UBA with 30.17 million units exchanged, amounting to N41.21 million.
Market breadth maintained a positive outlook, with 35 stocks appreciating in value while 32 stocks experienced depreciation.
Champion Breweries led the gainers’ list with a remarkable 10% increase in stock value. On the other hand, Linkage Assurance headed the list of declining securities, experiencing a 10% decrease in stock value.
Market experts attributed this robust performance to a combination of factors, including investor sentiment influenced by macroeconomic developments such as the formation and swearing-in of the economic cabinet by President Bola Tinubu.
They also noted that movements in yields within the fixed income market played a role in shaping market dynamics.
Amid ongoing challenges posed by the weak macroeconomic environment on corporate earnings, experts highlighted the importance of strategically positioning investments in fundamentally strong stocks.
