The Nigerian Exchange opened the week on a positive note as the equity market recorded a gain of N1.78tn in market capitalisation at the close of trading on Monday.

The All-Share Index rose by 2,808.71 points, or 1.99 per cent, to close at 144,071.76, pushing the total market capitalisation to N91.2tn. This reflects a one-week gain of 6.59 per cent, a four-week gain of 19.08 per cent, and a year-to-date return of 39.98 per cent.

In total, 811.09 million shares valued at N19.47bn were exchanged in 35,961 deals. This marked a 25 percent decline in volume and a 27 percent drop in turnover compared to the previous trading session, though the number of deals increased by four percent.

Out of 127 listed equities that participated in trading, 47 gained and 23 declined, while the rest closed flat.

UPDC led the gainers’ chart, appreciating by 10 per cent to close at N5.94 per share. Lasaco Assurance and Royal Exchange also recorded 10 per cent gains each, closing at N2.86 and N1.65 per share, respectively. UAC of Nigeria rose by 9.97 per cent to close at N97.10, while Sovereign Trust Insurance gained 9.94 per cent to end at N1.88.

On the losers’ list, Transcorp Power recorded a 10 per cent decline, closing at N288.00 per share. Academy Press followed with a 10 per cent loss to N9.90, while John Holt and Total Nigeria lost 9.59 per cent and 9.22 per cent, respectively.

In terms of volume, FCMB Group led with 84.95 million shares traded, followed by Universal Insurance (82.51m), Fidelity Bank (45.43m), Aiico Insurance (40.15m), and Veritas Kapital (39.77m).

GTCO led in terms of value with N2.76bn in trades, followed by Zenith Bank with N1.82bn, Dangote Cement recorded N1.58bn, FCMB posted N979.42m, and Fidelity Bank had N955.60m.

Sector performance showed broad-based gains. The NGX Industrial Index rose by 5.72 per cent, the NGX Consumer Goods Index advanced by 4.93 per cent, and the NGX Insurance Index gained 3.44 per cent. The Premium Index was up by 2.51 per cent, while the Main Board Index increased by 1.68 percent.