By The Nigerian equities market staged a modest rebound yesterday, gaining N19 billion after previous losses, driven by renewed investor interest in Unilever Nigeria Plc and 23 other stocks.
The All-Share Index (ASI) edged up by 30.40 points or 0.03%, closing at 104,560.02, while the overall market capitalisation rose to N65.704 trillion.
Gains were led by large- and mid-cap stocks including Unilever Nigeria, Custodian Investment, Abbey Mortgage Bank, Access Holdings, and Wema Bank.
Despite the market’s slight uptick, breadth closed negative with 24 gainers versus 29 losers. Abbey Mortgage Bank topped the gainers’ chart with a 9.94% increase to N7.41 per share. Unilever followed with a 9.65% rise to N38.05, while Learn Africa gained 8.33% to close at N3.25.
Other top gainers included Secure Electronic Technology, up 7.41% to 58 kobo, and Consolidated Hallmark Holdings, which rose 7.27% to N2.95 per share.
On the losing side, Northern Nigeria Flour Mills (NNFM) led with a 9.97% drop to N79.00 per share. The Initiates Plc (TIP) declined by 9.57% to N4.25, while Caverton Offshore fell 9.06% to N2.31.
Wapic Insurance and Guinea Insurance also posted losses, shedding 8.85% and 8.70% to close at N2.06 and 63 kobo respectively.
Total trading volume dipped 13.87% to 368.769 million units worth N10.871 billion, exchanged in 13,228 deals.
Fidelity Bank topped the activity chart with 47.43 million shares worth N866.95 million. Access Holdings followed with 28.05 million shares valued at N592.21 million, while Zenith Bank traded 23.12 million shares worth N1.15 billion.
UBA and FCMB Group also recorded significant trading volumes, transacting 21.98 million and 20.81 million shares respectively.
