Nigerian stocks added 2.16 per cent or N471.4 billion on Friday in an end-of-the-year rush for shares that helped equities deliver a 6.07 per cent return, but that was miles away from the 50 per cent reported for last year.
Investors doubled down on their resolve to own more shares as trade volume expanded by 100 per cent, with NGX Group, UPDC REIT and Zenith leading the charge.
Stocks touched their peak for the year on 9th November, when the benchmark index reached 43,730.55 basis points, and the valuation of shares listed on the Nigerian Exchange hit the N22.8 trillion mark. That also was the highest level since January 2018.
Market breadth, an indicator of investors’ sentiment towards trade, was positive as 31 gainers emerged compared to 15 laggards.
The all-share index climbed 903.17 basis points to 42,716.44. Similarly, market capitalisation rose to N21.83 trillion.
TOP FIVE GAINERS
Nestle topped gainers, trading up 10 per cent to close at N1,556.50. Royal Exchange gained 10 per cent to close at N0.88. UPDC REIT rose by 9.98 per cent to N4.45. SAHCO jumped to N5.30, notching up 8.61 per cent. Regal Insurance completed the top 5, climbing up by 8.51 per cent to N0.51.
TOP FIVE LOSERS
NEM topped the losers’ table, declining by 10 per cent to close at N4.50. Wema shrank by 8.86 per cent to end trade at N0.72. Jaiz tumbled to N0.56, losing 5.08 per cent. Champion Breweries dipped to N2.35, recording a 4.08 per cent loss. Transcorp closed at N0.96, going down by 3.03 per cent.
TOP FIVE TRADES
Altogether, 360 million shares worth N1.8 billion were traded in 3,607 deals.
Jaiz was the most preferred stock with 97.8 million units of its shares worth N53.2 million traded in 115 deals. Access Bank transacted 34 million shares priced at N308.4 million exchanged hands in 244 transactions. Sterling Bank had 30.5 million shares valued at N44.9 million traded in 40 deals. UPDC REIT traded 15.5 million shares estimated at N61.5 million in 41 transactions. NGX traded 14.9 million shares valued at N299.2 million in 153 deals.
PT