Renewed bargain hunting in many bluechio stocks, especially Airtel Africa and Presco lifted market capitalisation by N1.086 trillion.

At the close of trading yesterday, the all-share index (ASI) gained 1,691.86 points, representing a growth of 0.85 per cent to close at 200,705.88 points.

Also, market capitalisation gained N1.086 trillion to close at N128.836 trillion.

The upturn was impacted by gains recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are Airtel Africa, Presco, Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), Premier Paints and Nigerian Exchange Group.

On market performance, Imperial Asset Managers Limited said: “The market closed on a positive note, supported by gains in the banking, consumer goods, insurance and commodities sectors, while overall market breadth remained positive, indicating continued selective buying interest.

“In the near term, the market is expected to trade with a cautiously, as investors continue to position in fundamentally strong and dividend-paying stocks.”

The firm noted that “however, profit-taking may persist in recently appreciated counters, while institutional activity is expected to remain concentrated in highliquidity bellwether stocks”.

Market breadth closed positive, with 37 gainers against 23 losers. John Holt, Consolidated Hallmark Insurance, Legend Internet and Airtel Africa recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent each to close at N14.30 kobo, N4.95, N6.60 and N2, 497 respectively.

Zichis Agro-Allied Industries followed with a gain of 9.97 per cent to close at N10.37, while Premier Paints up by 9.94 per cent to close at N28.20 kobo.

On the other hand, NPF Microfinance Bank led the losers’ chart by 6.29 per cent to close at N6.56 kobo. Royal Exchange followed with a decline of 5.32 per cent to close at N1.78, while CWG declined by 4.82 per cent to close at N20.75 kobo.

Veritas Kapital Assurance depreciated by 4.21 per cent to close at N2.05, while UPDC declined by 3.88 per cent to close at N4.95 kobo.

Also, the total volume traded rose by 25.01 per cent to 1.292 billion units, valued at N 65.335 billion and exchanged in 89,949 deals. Transactions in the shares of Access Holdings topped the activity chart with 266.788 million shares valued at N6.022 billion. GTCO followed with 184.379 million shares worth N19.393 billion, while Wema Bank traded 182.483 million shares valued at N4.779 billion.

United Bank for Africa (UBA) traded 119.05 million shares valued at N5.752 billion, while Zenith Bank sold 42.706 million shares worth N4.574 billion.