Nigeria’s equities market opened August on a positive note, with market capitalisation rising by N289bn to N158.61tn.
The All-Share Index gained 0.18% to close at 245,730.53 points, driven by gains in large and mid-cap stocks including Vitafoam, MTN Nigeria, NASCON, First HoldCo and HBM Nigeria.
Despite the overall rise, market sentiment remained weak, with 38 stocks declining compared with 24 gainers.
Eterna and Caverton Offshore Support Group recorded the biggest gains, rising 10% each, while Ecobank Transnational Incorporated fell 9.95% to lead the losers.
Trading volume fell 2.1% to 923 million shares, valued at N37.85bn across 72,544 deals. Access Holdings was the most actively traded stock, accounting for 166.6 million shares worth N4.4bn.
Analysts at Cowry Asset Management expect the bullish trend to continue, although profit-taking could limit further gains.