The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited began the trading week on a positive note, as bargain-hunting by investors pushed market capitalisation back above the N160 trillion mark. The market capitalisation gained N1.041 trillion to close at N160.600 trillion, compared with N159.559 trillion recorded at the end of the previous trading session on Friday. This represents a 0.29 per cent gain, largely driven by the energy sector, although declines across several other sectors kept the market's performance relatively fragile.
Market Indices and Sector Performance
The All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 707.34 points to close at 247,699.78 points, up from 246,992.44 points in the preceding session. The energy index led the sectoral gains with a 2.19 per cent increase. However, other sectoral indices closed lower, with the NGX Insurance Index declining by 1.22 per cent, the NGX Banking Index depreciating by 0.72 per cent, the NGX Consumer Goods Index slipping by 0.10 per cent, and the NGX Industrial Goods Index dipping by 0.01 per cent.
Data from the NGX showed that twelve stocks ended on the gainers' chart, while 43 stocks closed on the losers' table, indicating negative market breadth and weak investor sentiment.
Top Gainers and Losers
Among the top gainers, Zichis appreciated by 9.97 per cent to N18.20, Aradel Holdings improved by 5.38 per cent to N1,570.00, Secure Electronic Technology soared by 4.29 per cent to 73 kobo, International Breweries grew by 3.02 per cent to N10.25, and MTN Nigeria rose by 2.45 per cent to N832.90.
On the losing side, Omatek declined by 10.00 per cent to N1.53, Caverton slipped by 10.00 per cent to N4.05, CMFC crumbled by 9.85 per cent to N2.38, SUNU Assurances crashed by 9.42 per cent to N2.98, and DAAR Communications lost 9.41 per cent to trade at N1.54.
Trading Activity and Most Active Stocks
A total of 407.9 million shares worth N27.3 billion were traded in 52,322 deals, compared with 2.2 billion shares valued at N73.4 billion exchanged in 42,709 deals in the preceding session. This represented an 81.46 per cent decline in trading volume, a 62.81 per cent drop in trading value, while the number of deals increased by 22.51 per cent.
Access Holdings led the activity log with 40.0 million shares valued at N1.2 billion. FCMB traded 25.6 million shares worth N297.7 million, Sterling Holdings exchanged 18.1 million shares valued at N136.9 million, GTCO sold 17.0 million shares worth N2.2 billion, and Nigerian Breweries transacted 14.5 million shares valued at N1.2 billion.
Dangote Refinery IPO Announcement
In a related development, Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Industries Limited, announced on Monday that domestic workers, traders, drivers, cooks, and managers will all be eligible to buy shares in the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals when it launches its Initial Public Offering (IPO). Dangote made the announcement at the signing ceremony for the IPO's registration documents in Lagos, calling the offer an "IPO for the people" designed to give ordinary Nigerians and other Africans a direct stake in Africa's largest oil refinery. The offer price is set at N525 per share.
