The Nigerian equities market kicked off the first trading session of the year on a positive note, gaining 25 basis points to close at 103,180.14 points. Early cautious sentiment gave way to upward momentum as the session progressed, driven by notable gains in Unilever (+9.26%), Ucap (+9.80%), Zenith (+0.77%), Access (+1.05%), AXA Mansard (+10.00%), UBA (+0.59%), Sterling (+4.11%), FBNH (+0.53%), Stanbic (+0.69%), and a handful of penny stocks.
On the downside, Fidelity (-2.86%), Nascon (-4.31%), Wapco (-0.29%), and Oando (-0.30%) recorded losses, but market breadth was overwhelmingly positive, with 56 stocks advancing against 8 decliners, signaling broad investor optimism.
Market turnover stood at N5.7 billion ($3.7 million), driven by active trades in Zenith Bank, Access, UBA, Wapco, Royalex, and Oando. Year-to-date, the index is up by 0.25%. As the new trading year unfolds, we expect the market to trade cautiously, with investors likely focusing on fundamentally sound stocks as they position for the months ahead.