Trading activity on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange returned positive on Wednesday.
The All-Share Index rose marginally by 0.09 per cent to close at 38,636.15 basis points.
The market capitalisation also rose by 0.09 per cent to close at N20.22tn, as investors gained N18.18bn amid the renewed bullish sentiment.
While 22 stocks traded up, 14 stocks closed in the red. The year-to-date loss of the ASI also fell to -4.05 per cent at the close of the day’s trading.
Buying pressure was notable on large capitalised stocks such as MTN Nigeria Communications, FBN Holdings, Zenith Bank and Guinness Nigeria; as a result, their share prices increased by 0.63 per cent, 2.03 per cent, 0.46 per cent and 9.96 per cent respectively.
Sectoral performance, however, remained bearish as four out of the five indices tracked closed in the red zone.
Save for the consumer goods index which rose by 0.20 per cent, the insurance, banking, oil and gas and industrial indices fell by 2.20 per cent, 0.20 per cent, 0.02 per cent and 0.01 per cent respectively.
Trading activity was mixed as total deals and value of stocks traded fell, while total volume of stocks rose.
At the close of Wednesday’s trading, total volume of stocks rose by 33.16 per cent to 278.04 million units valued at N2.27bn in 3,987 deals.
