The Nigerian equities market opened positively weekly as the All Share Index gained 0.10 percent to 243,299.24 points on Monday.
Market capitalisation rose by N159.8 billion to N157.75 trillion, propelling the market’s year-to-date return to 56.35 percent.
The News Chronicle reports that the modest gain extended the market’s positive run to four consecutive sessions, although market breadth weakened as 28 stocks closed lower compared with 19 gainers.
Banking stocks provided much of the support for the session. Fidelity Bank rose 5.3 percent, Custodian Investment gained 7.1 percent, and First HoldCo added 3.7 percent.
NGX Group was the best performer on the index, gaining 10 percent to N162.80, with Royal Exchange and RT Briscoe also posting strong gains.
John Holt slumped 10 percent to N8.10, followed by Daar Communications, Ellah Lakes, Regency Alliance Insurance and Learn Africa
The Banking Index rose 0.68 percent to lead the gainers, while the Insurance Index dipped 0.53 percent.
Trading activity slowed sharply, with volume falling 22.41 percent to 428.97 million shares and turnover down 20.42 percent to N20.52 billion.
The session coincided with the opening of the Dangote Refinery IPO, which is targeting N2.15 trillion from investors.
