Kayode Tokede 

The Nigerian stock market yesterday closed trading session on a positive note as gains in Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO) and 57 other stocks pushed the market up by N226.25 billion.

As GTCO gained 1.7per cent to close at N85.95 per share, the Nigerian Exchange Limited All Share Index (NGX ASI) gained by 358.60 basis points or 0.30 per cent to close at 121,653.93 basis points from 121,295.33 basis points it opened for trading.

Also, market capitalisation gained N226 billion to close at N76.758 trillion from N76.532 trillion it closed for trading the previous day.

Market breadth remained robust, with 58 gainers significantly outnumbering 21 laggards, indicating widespread buying interest across sectors. C&I Leasing, Champion Breweries, Omatek Ventures, and Nigerian Exchange recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent each to close at N6.60, N14.96, N1.10 and N56.10 respectively, per share.

Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals followed with a gain of 9.95 per cent to close at N9.50, while FTN Cocoa processors, AXA Mansard Insurance and Meyer up by 9.94 per cent each to close at N5.64, N11.06 and N17.70 respectively, per share.

On the other hand, PZ Cussons Nigeria led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent to close at N26.10, per share. Vitafoam Nigeria followed with a decline of 9.62 per cent to close at N21.60, while Nigerian Exchange Group declined by 9.17 per cent to close at N27.25, per share.

Ikeja Hotels depreciated by 7.41 per cent to close at N11.25, while Eterna declined by 5.26 per cent to close at N27.00, per share.

Also, the total volume traded rose 22.3 per cent to 1.008 billion units, valued at N19.484 billion, and exchanged in 24,770 deals. Transactions in the shares of Access Holdings topped the activity chart with 124.252 million shares valued at N2.739 billion. Japaul Gold & Venture followed with 123.080 million shares worth N340.917 million, while Mutual Benefits Assurance traded 55.558 million shares valued at N77.749 million.

Universal Insurance traded 54.597 million shares valued at N38.272 million, while AIICO Insurance sold 40.437 million shares worth N70.833 million.

On market outlook, Afrinvest Limited said, “we anticipate the bullish trend to be sustained in the next trading session as investors continue to hunt for bargains.”