Insurance, banking trades drive N142tn equity turnover
The Nigerian equities market closed on a bullish note on Thursday, driven by high-volume trading in the financial services and insurance sectors, which pushed total turnover across all boards to 1.39bn shares.
Trading data showed that investors exchanged 1,399,109,855 shares in 46,153 deals, leaving aggregate market capitalisation at N142.17tn. Overall market activity was largely driven by the Financial Services sector, which maintained a strong lead in both volume and trade counts throughout the day.
On the Premium Board, total traded volume reached 60.12m shares valued across 13,950 transactions. Tier-1 banking stocks maintained steady upward momentum, with United Bank for Africa Plc advancing by 2.21 per cent to close at N43.90 per share on 4.59 million shares traded in 1,064 deals, while Zenith Bank Plc edged up 0.40 per cent to N124.50 after 14.32 million shares changed hands in 2,607 trades.
Access Holdings Plc gained 5.66 per cent to settle at N28.00 per share across 2,225 trades, and First Holdco Plc closed flat at N136.00 after trading 5.07m shares. Outside the banking segment, MTN Nigeria Communications Plc traded 1.98m shares flat at N813.00, while Seplat Energy Plc staged a maximum 10.00 per cent gain to close at N14,907.80 per share in 446 deals.
Trading on the Main Board registered 1.32bn shares across 28,989 transactions, with sectoral movements dictated by active participation in commercial banking, insurance, and energy stocks. In the banking segment, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc led the gainers with a 1.48 per cent increase to N129.90 on 25.74m shares traded in 2,616 deals. Conversely, Fidelity Bank Plc dipped 1.58 per cent to N18.70, Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc shed 0.65 per cent to N7.65, while Ecobank Transnational Incorporated and Wema Bank Plc traded flat at N74.00 and N28.55, respectively.
The Insurance sub-sector witnessed extraordinary activity, highlighted by Fortis Global Insurance Plc, which traded an astounding 1.03 billion shares despite dropping 5.41 per cent to N1.40 per share. Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc saw active buying interest, advancing 2.48 per cent to N2.89 on 59.55m shares, while Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc surged 5.00 per cent to N1.68. On the downside, AIICO Insurance Plc declined 3.05 per cent to finish at N3.50 on 13.54 million shares.
Oil and gas equities experienced mixed sentiment, punctuated by volatile price action among key energy firms. Japaul Gold & Ventures Plc recorded a 9.83 per cent surge to finish at N2.57 per share on 7.57m shares. However, Aradel Holdings Plc hit the maximum loss limit, falling 10.00 per cent to N1,413.00 on 3.78m shares, while Oando Plc declined 2.13 per cent to N32.10 with 10.27m shares traded.
Sentiment in the consumer and industrial goods sectors remained mostly cautious, led by sharp sell-offs in select brewery and cable listings. Champion Breweries Plc and International Breweries Plc plummeted 9.91 per cent and 9.80 per cent to finish at N10.00 and N9.20, respectively, while Cutix Plc tumbled 6.78 per cent to N2.20. Bucking the trend, Transnational Corporation Plc picked up 4.54 per cent to reach N34.55 on 7.17 million shares, and Africa Prudential Plc added 4.88 per cent to settle at N10.75.
Across alternate trading platforms, the Growth Board recorded 5.69m shares traded across 1,065 deals, while Non-Interest Finance equities added 8.29 million shares through 1,724 transactions, boosted by Jaiz Bank Plc’s 1.28 per cent gain to N7.80. The Exchange Traded Funds market recorded 288,065 units traded in 1,065 deals, led by Lotus Halal Equity ETF, which rose 6.44 per cent to N127.99, while the Debt Securities segment recorded a total volume of 1,297 units across 10 trades.
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