BY BAMIDELE FAMOOFO
Extending gains for the fifth consecutive session, the Lagos bourse closed higher as the benchmark index gained 0.81 percent to settle at 46,604.94 points on Thursday, the highest level since 14 October.
Telco heavyweight, AIRTELAFRI (+6.30%) as well as BUAFOODS (+6.11%) were the major drivers of the market’s strong performance. Accordingly, the market remains on track for the second weekly gain in the month. The ASI’s year-to-date (YTD) return rose to 9.10 percent, with the market capitalisation up by N202.93bn to close at N25.38trn.
Analysis of today’s market activities showed trade turnover settled higher relative to the previous session, with the value of transactions up by 17.84 percent. A total of 138.60m shares valued at N2.17bn were exchanged in 3,434 deals. STERLNBANK (+0.00%) led the volume chart with 24.25m units traded while AIRTELAFRI (+6.30%) led the value chart in deals worth N791.28m.
Market breadth closed negative at a 0.76-to-1 ratio with declining issues outnumbering advancing ones. NESTLE (-10.00%) led twenty (20) others on the laggard’s log while MANSARD (+8.57%) topped fifteen (15) others on the gainer’s table.
