The Nigerian equities market extended its positive performance on Tuesday, closing higher by 0.53% amid renewed buying interest in major stocks.
The NGX All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 990.55 points to settle at 244,697.62 points, up from 243,707.07 points the previous day. This pushed the total market capitalisation up by N636 billion to N156.944 trillion.
Strong Performers
Airtel Africa emerged as the biggest gainer of the session, climbing 10% from N3,655.70 to N4,021.20. Other notable advancers included:
– International Energy Insurance (+9.90%)
– Abbey Mortgage Bank (+9.76%)
– Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank (+9.63%)
– First HoldCo (+8.49%)
On the flip side, several counters hit the 10% lower circuit, including Learn Africa, Trans-Nationwide Express, Okomu Oil, Unilever Nigeria, and NAHCO.
Market breadth was balanced with 33 gainers and 33 decliners. While the Industrial Goods, Consumer Goods, and Energy sectors closed in the red, the Banking index posted a gain of 1.33% and Insurance rose 0.24%.
Trading Activity Picks Up
Trading volume increased significantly by 81.26% to 1.3 billion shares, with the value of transactions reaching N57.9 billion. Sterling Holdings led the volume chart with 715.7 million shares traded, followed by GTCO, FCMB, Veritas Kapital, and Access Holdings.
Move to T+1 Settlement
In a related development, the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc announced plans to transition the Nigerian capital market to a T+1 settlement cycle. The move is aimed at improving market efficiency and bringing it in line with global standards. This follows the earlier migration from T+3 to T+2 settlement about six months ago.
