Nigerian Equities Market rose 0.23% on Tuesday to close at 141,761.36bps

• The Nigerian equities market extended its positive momentum in today’s session, as the NGX All Share Index (ASI) rose by 0.23% to close at 141,761.36 points. Consequently, the year-to-date (YTD) return inched higher to 37.73%, from 37.42% recorded in prior session. Similarly, the market capitalisation gained N203.46bn (0.23%), settling at N89.70trn.
• The uptick in market performance was largely underpinned by sustained demand in GTCO (+2.03%), OANDO (+4.95%), and ZENITHBANK (+0.86%). These gains adequately cushioned the drag from profit-taking in select banking and consumer goods counters, including ETI (-6.89%), UACN (-8.69%), and HONYFLOUR (-6.09%).
• Sectoral performance was largely positive, as all key indices advanced except the Insurance Index (-0.18%), weighed down by mild profit-taking in AIICO (-0.89%) and NEM (-0.17%). The Banking Index (+0.73%) anchored market sentiment, trailed with support from the Consumer Goods (+0.48%), Oil & Gas (+0.48%), and the Industrial Goods (+0.09%) indices.
• Market activity improved modestly, with trade volume and value transaction rising by 2.33% and 10.61%, respectively. FCMB (+2.75%) dominated the volume chart with 89.30mn units, while WAPCO (-0.41%) led the value board with N1.63bn trades.
• Market breadth closed negative at 0.84x, reflecting more decliners than gainers. NCR (+10.00%) topped the twenty-six (26) gainers, while LEGENDINT (-10.0%) led the thirty-two (32) losers. 

NASD Summary

• The NASD market closed on a negative note, with the NASD Securities Index (NSI) and market capitalisation declining by 0.15%, closing at 3,643.45 points and N2.18trn, respectively.
• Market activity was mixed, as transaction volume rose sharply by 57.14% while trade value declined by 29.78%, respectively.  
• SDACORN (+1.52%) advanced as the leading gainer, whereas SDCSCSPLC (-2.55%) led the market laggards.