The Nigerian stock market rebounded on Tuesday by 0.45 per cent after consecutive days of shedding weight as a result of intense selling pressure, triggered by profit-taking and regulatory changes like the adoption of the T+1 settlement cycle and a change to the price movement rules.
Yesterday, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited closed higher despite three of the five key sectors closing in the red.
The industrial goods and the energy indices gained 0.01 per cent each, while the banking index slumped by 1.62 per cent, the insurance counter lost 0.38 per cent, and the consumer goods sector declined by 0.03 per cent.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) was raised by 1,052.86 points to 229,419.18 points from 228,366.32 points, and the market capitalisation expanded by N676 billion to N147.218 trillion from N146.542 trillion.
Customs Street recorded 19 price gainers and 32 price losers during the trading day, indicating a negative market breadth index and weak investor sentiment.
Prestige Assurance improved by 10.00 per cent to N1.54, Airtel Africa also gained 10.00 per cent to close at N4,794.60, Cutix appreciated by 9.70 per cent to trade at N2.94, Regency Alliance grew by 9.09 per cent to 84 Kobo, and FCMB climbed by 7.81 per cent to N10.35.
On the flip side, Custodian Investment lost 9.98 per cent to finish at N65.85, RT Briscoe dropped 9.95 per cent to quote at N9.95, PZ Cussons also depreciated by 9.95 per cent to N85.50, UPDC slipped by 9.86 per cent to N3.20, and Honeywell Flour retreated by 9.78 per cent to N28.12.
A total of 966.7 million equities worth N40.0 billion exchanged hands in 49,579 deals on Tuesday versus the 998.5 million equities valued at N43.7 billion traded in 61,813 deals on Monday, showing a drop in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 2.99 per cent, 8.47 per cent, and 19.79 per cent, respectively.
The busiest stock for the session was Linkage Assurance, which sold 96.0 million units for N155.1 million, FCMB exchanged 93.8 million units valued at N956.0 million, Japaul traded 81.8 million units worth N228.8 million, Morison Industries transacted 79.2 million units for N791.7 million, and Neimeth sold 71.6 million units valued at N552.1 million.