The Nigerian stock market rebounded on Friday, reversing the previous day’s decline as investors gained about N30 billion in portfolio value.
The recovery was driven by price appreciation in stocks such as Red Star Express, NCR Nigeria, SCOA, Omatek Ventures and Deep Capital Management, which pushed the market into positive territory.
Market data showed that the Nigerian Exchange Ltd. market capitalisation rose by N30 billion to close at N106.353 trillion, compared with an opening value of N106.323 trillion.
In the same vein, the All-Share Index appreciated by 0.04 per cent, gaining 72.21 points to close at 166,129.50, up from 166,057.29 recorded at the close of trading on Thursday.
Market breadth ended the session on a positive note, with 43 equities recording gains, while 26 stocks closed in negative territory.
Red Star Express topped the gainers’ chart with a 10 per cent increase, closing at N13.20 per share.
NCR Nigeria followed closely with a gain of 9.97 per cent to settle at N128.55, while SCOA advanced by 9.96 per cent to close at N14.90 per share.
Omatek Ventures rose by 9.94 per cent to finish at N1.77, while Deep Capital Management declined by 9.85 per cent to close at N4.46 per share.
On the losing side, Mc Nicholas led the laggards with a drop of 8.81 per cent, ending the session at N6 per share.
Legend Internet followed with a decline of 7.56 per cent to close at N5.50, while Cornerstone Insurance fell by 6.48 per cent to settle at N6.35 per share.
Cileasing also recorded a loss of 6.29 per cent to close at N8.20, while Austinlaz depreciated by 5.78 per cent to end the day at N3.75 per share.
An analysis of trading activities showed a decline in market participation, as the volume, value and number of deals traded all fell during the session.
A total of 539.9 million shares valued at N16.7 billion were exchanged in 48,023 transactions on Friday.
This was lower than the 1.03 billion shares worth N31.6 billion that were traded in 51,227 deals during the previous trading session on Thursday.
Zenith Bank recorded the highest trading activity for the day, with 54.55 million shares exchanged, valued at N3.79 billion.
The bank’s trades accounted for 10.10 per cent of the total volume and 22.68 per cent of the total value of equities traded on the market.
