The Christmas rally keeps going strong with a 1.2 per cent increase in the index
The Christmas rally in the stock market has continued to gather momentum, with the all-share index rising by 1.2 per cent, driven by a surge in the shares of Okomu Oil Plc and 49 other stocks. This surge resulted in a gain of 891.31 points, bringing the all-share index to 74,289.02 points. Additionally, the market capitalisation rose by N488 billion, reaching N40.652 trillion.
The increase in the index was primarily due to the rise in the prices of large and medium capitalised stocks such as Okomu Oil, MTN Nigeria Communications, Transcorp Hotel, Multiverse Mining and Exploration, and FBN Holdings. According to Afrinvest Limited, this bullish rally, often referred to as the Santa Claus rally, was fuelled by robust buying activity in major banking sector stocks as fund managers engaged in window dressing and investors selected fundamentally strong stocks towards the end of the trading year.
Market sentiment was positive as well, with 50 stocks gaining relative to 19 losers. Industrial and Medical Gas Nigeria and Transnational Corporation (Transcorp) emerged as the highest price gainers with each registering a 10 per cent increase to close at N9.35 kobo and N8.47 kobo respectively. Multiverse Mining & Exploration and Okomu Oil followed closely with a gain of 9.96 per cent each, closing at N12.70 kobo and N263.90 kobo respectively, while Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank advanced by 9.87 per cent to close at N4.12 kobo.
On the other hand, John Holt led the losers’ chart with a 10 per cent decline to close at N2.34 kobo. Ellah Lakes followed with a 9.94 per cent decline to close at N2.9, while Tripple Gee & Company shed 9.66 per cent to close at N2.15 kobo. Regency Alliance Insurance also experienced a decline of 8.11 per cent to close at 34 kobo, and UAC of Nigeria (UACN) depreciated by 5.96 per cent to close at N15.
The total volume traded increased by 37.19 per cent to 760.93 million units, valued at N 13.026 billion, and exchanged in 7,990 deals. Abbey Mortgage Bank led the activity with 224.085 million shares worth N365.279 million, followed by Access Holdings with 65.795 million shares valued at N1.523 billion. Transcorp traded 65.305 million shares valued at N552.557 million.
United Bank for Africa (UBA) traded 45.979 million shares worth N1.198 billion while Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) traded 43.593 million shares worth N1.744 billion.
This upward trajectory in the equities sector of the capital market has certainly caught the attention of investors and fund managers. It will be interesting to see how this Yuletide rally plays out as we head into the new year. If you want to stay updated on the latest news about Nigerian and world news, business, technology, and sports, you can get daily updates straight to your inbox from The Guardian, providing leading coverage to keep you well-informed.
