The equities market sustained its upward momentum on Friday, closing the week on a strong note as investors gained N405 billion.

Price appreciation in companies such as: Abbey Mortgage Bank, Royal Exchange, Nigerian Breweries, John Holt and Daar Communications as well as 24 other stocks helped push the market into positive territory.

Consequently, market capitalisation rose to N159.558 trillion from N159.153 trillion, representing a 0.25 per cent increase or N405 billion gain.

Similarly, the All-Share Index climbed by 604.22 points, or 0.25 per cent, to close at 246,992.44, compared to 246,388.22 recorded in the previous session on Thursday.

The sustained rally further strengthened the year-to-date return to 58.72 per cent.

However, the market breadth closed negatively, with 31 losers against 26 gainers.

On the losers’ chart, Red Star Express and Haldane McCall led by 10 per cent each, ending the session at N13.95 and N3.60 per share respectively.

Industrial and Medical Gases gained by 9.97 per cent, closing at N30.70.

Juli climbed by 9.66 per cent, settling at N6.55, while University Press rose by 9.09 per cent, finishing at N5 per share.

On the other hand, Abbey Mortgage Bank and Royal Exchange led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent each, closing at N7.70 and N1.10 per share respectively.

Also, Nigerian Breweries dropped by 9.93 per cent, finishing at N82.45.

John Holt declined by 9.89 per cent, settling at N10 and Daar Communications dipped by 9.68 per cent, ending the session at N1.70 per share.

Market activity strengthened during the session, with total volume traded rising by 416.66 per cent to 2.24 billion shares, valued at N73.41 billion across 42,709 deals.

Fortis Global Insurance led trading volume with 1.45 billion shares, representing 64.85 per cent of the day’s total volume, while Seplat Energy recorded the highest transaction value at N32.24 billion, accounting for 43.91 per cent of the total value traded. 

(NAN)