Stocks maintain upward trajectory with 1.22% gain on Wednesday

• The Nigerian stock market continued its bullish momentum this week, as the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) gained by 1.22% to close at 121,257.69 points. Market capitalisation also rose by 1.57%, settling at N76.76trn. On the year-to-date performance, the ASI posted a gain of +17.81%. 
• The bullish performance was driven by strong buying interest in OANDO (+10.00%), DANGSUGAR (+10.00%), ZENITHBANK (+9.43%) and BUACEMENT (8.70%). These gains offset declines in GTCO (-0.72%), WAPCO (-4.10%), NESTLE (-3.33%), and FCMB (-1.52%).  
• The market activity was mixed as total trading volume dipped slightly by 0.81%, while the value of transactions expanded by 10.41%. The number of deals executed increased by 3.10%. FIDELITYBK (+1.27%) topped the volume chart with 82.98mn shares traded, while ZENITHBANK (+9.43%) lead in value terms, recording N3.45bn worth of trades.
• Market breadth closed strongly at 3.71:1, reflecting a dominance of gainers than losers. DANGSUGAR (+10.0%) led the sixty-three (63) gainers’ table, while UPL (-6.25%) led the fifteen (15) laggards’ log.

NASD Summary

• The NASD OTC market traded lower, with the NASD Securities Index (NSI) declining by 0.37% to 3,308.2 points. Market capitalization mirrored by this decline, shedding the same margin of 0.37% to N1.94trn.
• Trading activity plunged sharply, reflecting the bearish market performance. Volume traded dropped by 96.95% to 1,797,425 units, alongside the value of transactions decline by 98.60% to N8.96mn. However, total number of trades increased by 48.00% to 37 deals executed, suggesting increased trades amid the prevailing negative sentiment.