Last week on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, investors transacted 3.695 billion shares worth N177.687 billion in 370,980 deals compared with the 5.494 billion shares worth N196.709 billion traded in 370,233 deals a week earlier.
In the five-day trading week, the financial services industry led the activity chart with 2.444 billion stocks sold for N72.029 billion in 145,628 deals, contributing 66.14 per cent and 40.54 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
The energy sector exchanged 326.073 million equities valued at N39.510 billion in 36,458 deals, and the services segment traded 218.374 million shares worth N2.012 billion in 18,575 deals.
It was observed that Jaiz Bank, Fortis Global Insurance, and Access Holdings were the busiest, with 661.242 million units valued at N8.062 billion executed in 38,534 deals, contributing 17.90 per cent and 4.54 per cent to the total trading volume and value apiece.
Business Post reports that 44 stocks gained weight in the week versus 32 stocks of the preceding week, while 58 equities lost weight versus 69 equities a week earlier, and 46 shares closed flat versus 47 shares of the previous week.
Fortis Global Insurance was the best-performing stock after it chalked up 58.51 per cent to trade at N1.49, Premier Paints expanded by 32.73 per cent to N14.60, Eterna gained 28.72 per cent to settle at N42.35, NGX Group rose by 21.73 per cent to N150.95, and UAC Nigeria grew by 20.63 per cent to N115.80.
On the flip side, McNichols was the worst-performing equity after it shed 21.44 per cent to N6.40, Mecure slipped by 18.92 per cent to N61.50, Multiverse depreciated by 18.72 per cent to N18.45, Jaiz Bank tumbled by 18.45 per cent to N10.30, and Omatek lost 15.38 per cent to quote at N2.20.
Generally, Customs Street witnessed buying pressure last week, as the All-Share Index (ASI) appreciated by 2.15 per cent to 196,968.15 points, and the market capitalisation moved up by 2.16 per cent to N126.437 trillion.
Similarly, all other indices finished higher except the insurance, MERI Value, consumer goods, growth and sovereign bond indices, which crashed by 1.88 per cent, 0.01 per cent, 0.09 per cent, 15.31 per cent and 3.01 per cent, respectively.