Nigerian Stocks  gain N285bn after days of losses

The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) market capitalisation, which opened at N97.258 trillion, rose by N285 billion, or 0.29 per cent, to close at N97.543 trillion.

Similarly, the All-Share Index increased by 0.29 per cent, or 449.80 points, to 154,126.46, up from 153,676.66 on Thursday.

The year-to-date return climbed to 49.74 per cent. Market breadth, however, closed negative, with 35 losers against 31 gainers.

Renewed interest in stocks such as Julius Berger, Learn Africa, Cornerstone Insurance, Aso Savings, and Ikeja Hotel boosted market sentiment.

Consequently, Julius Berger and other stocks led the gainers’ table.

On the flip side, Eterna, McNichols, and Deap Capital fell by 10 per cent each to close at N36.00, N2.97, and N1.71 per share, respectively.

On Friday, total trades amounted to 5.2 billion shares worth N45.2 billion across 30,598 deals, with Cornerstone Insurance topping activity with 4.68 billion shares valued at N22.13 billion, followed by Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), which traded 66.4 million shares worth N5.9 billion.