Access Corporation, MTN Nigeria drive equity market to N607bn gain

The Nigerian equity market gained N607bn in market capitalisation in the past week, on the back of buying interest in large-cap stocks like Access Corporation and MTN Nigeria.
The All-Share Index appreciated by 1.06 per cent to close at 97,456.62, while the market capitalisation rose by 1.10 per cent to N56tn.
All other indices closed higher, except for the Growth Index, which saw a depreciation of 0.03 per cent, while the Alternative Securities Market Index remained flat. The upward trend was driven by investor interest in major stocks, such as Access Corporation, which gained 2.39 per cent, and MTN Nigeria, which rose by 7.37 per cent. Across various sectors, the performance was bullish, with gains recorded in consumer goods (1.47 per cent), insurance (1.59), industrial (0.17 per cent), banking (5.12 per cent), and oil and  gas (two per cent). In terms of activity, the financial services industry led the charts, accounting for 1.71 billion shares valued at N26.99bn traded in 19,277 deals, contributing 66.05 per cent and 52.71 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value, respectively. Following closely was the oil and gas industry, which saw 332.83 million shares worth
N12bn traded in 9,956 deals.  The services industry ranked third with 146.189m shares valued at N530.544m traded in 3,404 deals.
During the week, 43,535 units valued at N13.476m were traded in 122 deals, up from the 23,881 units valued at N8.240m transacted in the previous week. Overall, 52 equities appreciated, an increase from the 36 equities recorded in the previous week, as 31 equities saw price declines, compared to 46 in the prior week, while 68 remained unchanged, slightly lower than the 69 recorded earlier. Meanwhile, the Federal Government’s savings bonds were listed on the Nigerian Exchange on September 12.