The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) ended the trading week on a positive note, adding N622 billion to investors’ wealth as market capitalisation rose by 0.39 per cent to close at N157.057 trillion.

Despite the gain in market value, the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) slipped by 0.14 per cent, closing at 243,462.13 points, down from 243,798.76 points recorded at the start of the week.

Trading activity weakened during the period, with investors exchanging 2.819 billion shares valued at N182.499 billion in 226,729 deals, compared with 3.648 billion shares worth N220.568 billion traded in 251,861 deals the previous week.

The Financial Services Industry remained the most active sector, accounting for 71.17 per cent of total traded volume and 54.63 per cent of total traded value. The Consumer Goods and Oil and Gas sectors followed in trading activity.

The week’s most actively traded stocks were First Holdco Plc, FCMB Group Plc, and Access Holdings Plc, which jointly accounted for 939.402 million shares worth N57.673 billion, representing over 33 per cent of total trading volume.

Market breadth weakened as 44 equities advanced, 35 declined, and 67 closed unchanged.
Among the top gainers were First Holdco, Thomas Wyatt Nigeria, Fidelity Bank, Learn Africa, and United Bank for Africa (UBA).

Meanwhile, BUA Cement, Red Star Express, International Energy Insurance, C&I Leasing, and PZ Cussons Nigeria recorded the biggest losses during the week.

Meanwhile, the NGX announced the admission of 13.812 billion additional ordinary shares of Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc to its Daily Official List on 16 July, further increasing the company’s issued share capital. Visit www.jocomms.com for more news.