Following price gains in 40 stocks, the Nigerian stock market, yesterday, reversed losses to close in an upbeat as the overall capitalisation advanced by N521 billion.

The ll share index (ASI) gained 822.85 points, representing a growth of 0.60 per cent to close at 138,980.01 points. Also, market capitalisation gained N521 billion to close at N87.937 trillion.

The upturn was impacted by gains recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are; Transnational Corporation (Transcorp), Nigerian Breweries, Nigerian Exchange Group, Honeywell Flour Mills and Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO).

On what will shape the market in the next trading session, analysts at Vetiva Dealings and Brokerage said: “In the absence of panic selling and with buying interest still firm, we anticipate range-bound trading in the week ahead. We expect a slight bullish tilt, as investors are likely to seek value in fundamentally sound stocks that faced pressure this past week.”

Market sentiment was vibrant, evidenced by a positive breadth with 40 stocks advancing against 13 decliners. Ellah Lakes and Veritas Kapital Assurance recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent each to close at N12.98 and N1.98 respectively, while Honeywell Flour Mills followed with a gain of 9.95 per cent to close at N23.20 kobo.

AXA Mansard Insurance and Royal Exchange rose by 9.94 per cent each to close at N15.82 and N1.88 kobo respectively, while Prestige Assurance up by 9.88 per cent to close at N1.78 kobo.

On the other hand, Austin Laz & Company led the losers’ chart by 9.75 per cent to close at N2.87 kobo. Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals followed with a decline of 8.33 per cent to close at N6.05, while DAAR Communications declined by 4.44 per cent to close at 86 kobo.

Champion Breweries depreciated by 4.15 per cent to close at N15.00, while Unilever Nigeria declined by 4.11 per cent to close at N70.

Also, the total volume traded rose by 276.79 per cent to 1.819 billion units, valued at N15.984 billion, and exchanged in 24,612 deals. Transactions in the shares of Sovereign Trust Insurance topped the activity chart with 1.417 billion shares valued at N4.214 billion.

Nigerian Breweries followed with 41.203 million shares worth N2.822 billion, while Fidelity Bank traded 30.556 million shares valued at N642.121 million.

Zenith Bank traded 26.351 million shares valued at N1.704 billion, while Universal Insurance sold 24.154 million shares worth N28.235 million.