BY BAMIDELE FAMOOFO
On Wednesday, bullish sentiments returned to the local bourse, snapping two consecutive sessions of loss this week as the benchmark index eked out a 0.05 percent gain to close at 47,364.46 points. Buying interest in MTNN (+0.24%) was the primary driver of the session’s gain. In addition, gains in FBNH (+1.29%), STANBIC (+0.87%) and UBA (+0.59%) offset losses in ZENITHBANK (-1.49%), ACCESS (-0.95%) and GTCO (-0.19%) to keep the market above water. As a result, the ASI’s year-to-date (YTD) return rose to 10.88 percent, while the market capitalisation gained N12.72bn to close at N25.53trn.
Analysis of today’s market activities showed trade turnover settled higher relative to the previous session, with the value of transactions advancing by 2.43 percent. A total of 145.83m shares valued at N2.54bn were exchanged in 4,113 deals. UBA (+0.59%), for the second consecutive session, led the volume chart with 14.76m units traded, while MTNN (+0.24%) led the value chart in deals worth N458.93m.
Market breadth closed positive at a 1.13-to-1 ratio, with advancing issues outnumbering declining ones. NPFMCRFBK (+10.00%) led seventeen (17) others on the leader’s log, while ROYALEX (-9.73%) topped fifteen (15) others on the laggard’s table.
