Stock market extends gains by N55bn

Nigerian stock market sustained its positive outlook on Tuesday to begin the month of December on a positive note as the All-Share Index and the market capitalisation rose further by 0.30 per cent each.

Market watchers attributed the development to renewed confidence as bargain hunters continue to leverage undervalued stocks.

The market breadth, however, closed negative as the number of gainers at the close of the trading session was 16 while decliners were 21.

Consequently, the All-Share Index grew by 105.48 basis points or 0.30 per cent from 35,042.14 index points the previous trading session to 35,147.62 while the market capitalisation of equities appreciated by N55bn to close at N18.36tn from N18.31tn.

On the activity chart, premium subsector dominated in volume terms with 113.8 million shares exchanged in 1,375 deals. The subsector was enhanced by the activities in the shares of Access Bank Plc and FBNH Plc.

The banking sub-sector was boosted by the activities on the shares of GTBank Plc and Fidelity Bank Plc followed with 55.64 million units traded in 982 deals.

In all, investors exchanged a total of 308.18 million shares in 4,515 deals.

Further analysis of the day’s trading showed that Caverton Plc led the gainers chart with 9.88 per cent to close at N1.89 per share while Cutix Nigeria Plc followed with 9.80 per cent to close at N1.68 per share and AIICO Insurance Plc with a gain of 9.78 per cent to close at N1.01 per share.

On the flip side, Cornerstone Insurance Plc led the losers’ chart with a drop of 10 per cent to close at 54 kobo per share.

CHI Plc followed with a loss of 9.68 per cent to close at 28 kobo per share while Prestige Assurance Plc dropped by 9.09 per cent to close at 50 kobo per share.