Seplat and Insurance Surge Propel Equity Market to N132bn Gain

InfoStride News reported a resurgence in the Nigerian Exchange Limited on Wednesday, with the market capitalization witnessing a notable uptick of N132bn. This surge was fueled by the appreciating share values of Seplat Energy (+10%), Meyer Plc (+9.79%), Sunu Assurance (+9.56%), Nestle (+9.52%), and Consolidated Hallmark Holdings Plc (+9.24%).

The All-Share Index concluded with a 0.34% gain, reaching 71,283.34 points. Simultaneously, the market capitalization elevated to N39.007tn, reflecting investors’ optimistic sentiments, particularly in select medium and large-cap stocks with robust fundamentals.

While trading activity moderated, with total deals and volume experiencing declines of 19.14% and 32.55%, totaling 6,579 deals and 360.60 million units, the total value for the day increased by 17.64% to N6.61bn.

Despite the positive market sentiments, there were more losers (39) than gainers (21). Seplat, Meyer, Sunu Assurance, Nestle Plc, and Consolidated Hallmark Holdings Plc closed at N2.310, N3.59, N1.49, N1.150, and N1.30 per unit, respectively, after gains ranging from 10% to 9.24%.

Guinea Insurance led the losers’ chart, losing 10% to close at N0.27, followed by Omatek (-9.88% at N0.73), Abbey Mortgage Bank (-9.68% at N1.68), Neimeth Pharma (-9.45% at N1.82), and Tantalizer (-8.62% at N0.53 per unit).

Sector performance was predominantly bullish, with four out of the five sectors tracked closing positive. The Insurance, Consumer Goods, Oil/Gas, and Industrial Goods indexes recorded significant advancements, rising by 1.17%, 0.89%, 6.06%, and 0.01%, respectively.

Conversely, banking stocks emerged as the sole laggard for the day, declining by 0.56%. At the close of Wednesday’s trading session, GTCO was the most traded security in terms of volume and value, with 56.91 million units worth N2.19bn traded, changing hands in 261 deals.

This market update showcases the dynamic nature of the Nigerian Exchange, with diverse movements in various sectors and individual stocks, providing investors with valuable insights into the current state of the market.