Kayode Tokede

The Nigerian stock market extended its gains for a second consecutive session as renewed buying interest in Airtel Africa, Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), among other drive market capitalization by N1.64trillion .

The Nigerian Exchange Limited All-Share Index (NGX ASI) gained by 2,524.00 basis points, or 1.06 per cent to close at 240,743.19 basis points.

Market breadth was positive, with 33 advancing stocks surpassing 23 declining counters. Guinea Insurance and Airtel Africa followed with a gain of 10 per cent each to close at N1.10 and N4,358.80 respectively, while International Energy Insurance followed with a gain of 9.89 per cent to close at N6.11, per share.

Tripple Gee & Company up by 9.82 per cent to close at N3.69, while Cornerstone Insurance rose by 9.76 per cent to close at N6.75, per share.

On the other hand, Red Star Express led the losers’ chart by 9.96 per cent to close at N24.85, per share. Premier Paints followed with a decline of 9.93 per cent to close at N30.40, while Trans-Nationwide Express declined by 9.82 per cent to close at N4.04, per share.

Royal Exchange depreciated by 9.38 per cent to close at N1.45, while Abbey Mortgage Bank declined by 9.29 per cent to close at N8.30, per share.

Also, the total volume traded surged by 15.74 per cent to 564.909 billion units, valued at N39.345 billion, and exchanged in 49,230 deals. Transactions in the shares of Fidelity Bank topped the activity chart with 59.372 million shares valued at N1.077 billion. Zenith Bank followed with 49.531 million shares worth N5.860 billion, while Dangote Sugar Refinery traded 43.118 million shares valued at N3.125 billion.

Chams Holding Company traded 39.510 million shares valued at N156.463 million, while Access Holdings sold 30.707 million shares worth N703.625 million.

On market performance, a group of analysts at APT Securities & Funds Limited said that the session was characterized by sustained bullish sentiment and improved liquidity, as investors extended bargain-hunting activities and supported the market’s recovery.