Abuja: The Nigerian equities market closed bullish on Tuesday, leading to N578 billion gains for investors. This marks the ninth consecutive bullish session. Gains in stocks like Aluminium Extrusion Industries, Austinlaz, Custodian Investment, First Holding Company, FTN Cocoa Processors, and 24 others drove the market into positive terrain.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the market capitalisation, which opened at N97.193 trillion, added N578 billion or 0.59 percent to close at N97.771 trillion. The All-Share Index also gained 0.59 percent or 895.07 points, settling at 153,354.14 against 152,459.07 recorded on Monday. As a result, the Year-To-Date (YTD) return rose to 48.99 percent. Additionally, the market breadth closed positive with 29 gainers and 27 losers.
The gainers chart was led by Aluminium Extrusion Industries, which increased by 9.96 percent, ending the session at N14.90. Austinlaz trailed by 9.81 percent, closing at N2.91, and Custodian Investment grew by 9.69 percent, finishing at N38.50 per share. Similarly, First Holding Company soared by 9.35 percent, settling at N50.30, while FTN Cocoa Processors gained 8.74 percent, closing at N5.10 per share.
On the other hand, Royal Exchange led the losers’ chart by 7.22 percent, finishing at N1.80. Champion Breweries followed by 6.57 percent, settling at N15.65, and National Salt Company shed 5.36 percent, closing at N105.05 per share. Sovereign Trust Insurance dropped by 5.28 percent, ending the session at N3.77, while Japaul Gold dipped by 4.51 percent, closing at N2.33 per share.
VFD Group recorded the highest volume with 191.97 million shares traded, while GTCO recorded the highest value at N5.59 billion. Commenting on the bullish run, Vice President of Highcap Securities, Mr. David Adonri, stated that the positive rally was in line with the season, describing it as the ‘Santa Claus Rally,’ a global phenomenon. He noted, however, that there are deviations in some years.
Mr. Adonri explained, “What we see now is that a lot of portfolio managers are rebalancing their portfolios while demand is being orchestrated. Also, a lot of investors are currently taking positions to align themselves to benefit from the year-end distributions by companies.”