The Nigerian capital market experienced a wave of excitement as trading concluded today, witnessing the All-Share Index (ASI) reaching a pinnacle not seen in 15 years.
The Nigerian Exchange Limited’s All-Share Index surged by 0.51 percent to reach 66,490.34 points from the prior day’s 66,151.38 points, surpassing the highest recorded value of 66,371.20 on March 5, 2008, just prior to the market crash of that year.
Big jump in banking stocks sparks excitement in market
A key driving force behind this surge was the remarkable upswing in banking stocks, as investors capitalized on the recent record-breaking earnings posted by banks.
Consequently, market capitalization saw a 0.51 percent rise to close at N39.69 trillion from Monday’s N36.21 trillion, resulting in a noteworthy N510 billion gain for investors.
David Adonri, Vice Chairman of Highcap Securities, commented on the matter, noting the market’s increased depth and resilience.
Despite this positive momentum, concerns remain regarding the equity market’s absorptive capacity due to the substantial price escalation.
Adonri highlighted the need to stimulate the primary market with strategic equity offerings to alleviate pressure from the secondary market and capitalize on the conducive environment, suggesting sectors such as metallurgy, machinery, chemicals, power, clean energy, and technical education for potential mobilization of equity capital.
Today’s trading analysis revealed a substantial upsurge in trade turnover, exhibiting an impressive 79.18 percent surge in transaction values compared to the previous session.
This led to a total volume of 436.95 million units of stocks traded, valued at N7.02 billion, spanning 7,933 deals.
This marked a significant increase from Monday’s trading, where 311.12 million units valued at N3.92 billion were traded across 7,193 deals.
The banking sector led the daily gains, ascending by 1.63 percent, followed by consumer goods with a 0.99 percent rise, while industrial goods registered a 0.21 percent increase.
Conversely, the oil/gas sector slipped by 0.09 percent, and the insurance sector faced a substantial decline of 1.56 percent, attributed to investors reallocating their investments.
