The Nigerian equities market closed the week on a positive note, advancing by 0.39% today, to settle at 103,586.33 points, marking consecutive gains since the start of the year. Today’s performance was driven by advances in Wapco (+2.51%), UBA (+2.05%), Zenith (+1.42%), Presco (+3.79%), Fidelity (+2.94%), Access (+1.66%), Sterling (+8.06%), and Wema (+9.89%).
Insurance stocks also posted impressive gains, with AXA Mansard (+9.42%), Cornerstone (+9.85%), Wapic (+9.42%), NEM (+9.17%), and AIICO (+9.55%) pushing the NGXINS up by 7.81% for the day.
On the downside, Total (-9.74%), Oando (-1.98%), and FBNH (-0.89%) declined. Market breadth was strongly positive, with 66 gainers against 10 losers, reflecting widespread investor optimism.
Market turnover stood at N8.2 billion ($5.3 million), supported by active trades in FBNH, Oando, Access, Total, Zenith, UBA, and Ucap. Year-to-date, the index is up by 0.64%. The market is expected to trade cautiously in the next session.