The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) began the week on a strong footing, posting a ₦465 billion rise in market capitalisation on Monday as renewed investor interest in insurance and industrial stocks lifted overall performance.
At the close of trading, the market capitalisation climbed to ₦93.8 trillion from ₦93.35 trillion recorded on Friday. Similarly, the All-Share Index gained 729.17 points, or 0.5 per cent, to close at 147,717.21 points.
The uptrend was largely driven by price gains in stocks such as Sovereign Trust Insurance, Transcorp Power, Consolidated Hallmark Holdings, Haldane McCall, Custodian Investment, and Stanbic IBTC Holdings.
Sovereign Trust Insurance topped the gainers’ chart with a 9.97 per cent rise to ₦3.53 per share. Transcorp Power followed with an 8.92 per cent increase to ₦342 per share, while Consolidated Hallmark Holdings advanced 7.14 per cent to ₦4.50. Haldane McCall also appreciated by 6.8 per cent to close at ₦4.40 per share.
On the flip side, Regency Alliance Insurance led the decliners with a 17.58 per cent drop to ₦1.36 per share. Triple Gee & Co. fell by 9.92 per cent to ₦5.45, while Wema Bank and LivingTrust Mortgage Bank declined by 4.51 per cent and 3.85 per cent to ₦19.05 and ₦5.00 per share, respectively.
Trading activity was upbeat, with 624.58 million shares worth ₦13.47 billion exchanged in 31,531 deals. This represented a 62 per cent increase in volume, a 29 per cent rise in value, and a 45 per cent jump in the number of deals compared with the previous session.
Consolidated Hallmark Holdings dominated the volume chart with 210.46 million shares valued at ₦909.65 million. Fidelity Bank followed with 47.47 million shares worth ₦951.82 million, while Chams traded 43.96 million shares valued at ₦191.63 million.
In value terms, MTN Nigeria led trading with ₦2.62 billion, followed by Zenith Bank with ₦1.44 billion, GTCO with ₦1.04 billion, Fidelity Bank with ₦951.82 million, and Consolidated Hallmark Holdings with ₦909.65 million.
Sectoral performance was largely positive, with the Insurance Index gaining 2.11 per cent, the Industrial Index up 0.66 per cent, the Premium Index improving by 0.5 per cent, and the Consumer Goods Index advancing 0.23 per cent.
Overall, the NGX maintained its bullish momentum, posting a one-week gain of two per cent, a four-week gain of 5.1 per cent, and a year-to-date return of 43.52 per cent.
Market analysts attributed the positive sentiment to renewed investor confidence, driven by expectations of strong third-quarter earnings and increased appetite for defensive stocks in the insurance and industrial sectors.
