Nigerian Equities Edge Higher as Stock Market Reclaims N74bn in Value

The Nigerian stock market staged a modest recovery on Friday, with equity investors gaining N74 billion as renewed bargain-hunting followed losses recorded in the previous trading session.

Data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) showed that market capitalisation rose by 0.07 per cent to close at N105.959 trillion, up from N105.885 trillion at the close of the prior session.

In the same vein, the All-Share Index advanced by 114.81 points, or 0.07 per cent, to finish at 165,512.18, compared with 165,397.37 recorded earlier.

The rebound was driven by renewed investor interest in selected stocks, including Morison, Union Homes Real Estate Investment Trust, SCOA, RT Briscoe, and Austinlaz.

Despite the overall market uptick, market breadth closed negative, with 40 stocks declining against 34 gainers.

Neimeth International Pharmaceutical led the losers, shedding 9.86 per cent to close at N13.25 per share. Secure Electronic Technology followed with a 9.35 per cent decline to 97 kobo, while Eterna dropped by 8.23 per cent to N28.45 per share.

University Press also fell by 6.25 per cent to close at N6, while Eunisell Interlinked declined by 5.84 per cent, ending the session at N153.95 per share.

On the gainers’ table, Union Homes Real Estate Investment Trust and Morison topped the list, each appreciating by 9.94 per cent to close at N71.35 and N7.52 per share, respectively.

They were followed by SCOA and RT Briscoe, which rose by 9.93 per cent each to settle at N23.80 and N5.98 per share, while Austinlaz gained 9.78 per cent to close at N4.49 per share.

Market activity, however, weakened as trading volume, value and deals declined. A total of 731.7 million shares valued at N19.05 billion were exchanged across 44,005 deals, compared with 768.3 million shares worth N21.2 billion traded in 46,481 transactions on Thursday.

CHAMS recorded the highest trading volume, with 76.86 million shares accounting for 10.51 per cent of total volume traded, while Zenith Bank emerged as the most traded by value at N3.47 billion, representing 18.20 per cent of the total value of transactions.