Dangote Sugar, NASCON Merger Hype Boosts Nigerian Stock Market To New Highs

The Nigerian stock market continues to ride high on a bullish wave, fueled by investor optimism surrounding merger discussions between Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc and NASCON Plc.

The All-Share Index (ASI) surged by 1.11%, closing at 68,279.14 index points, a substantial increase from the previous day's 67,527.19 index points.

Market capitalization also posted significant gains, rising by N412 billion to reach N37.370 trillion, up 1.11% from the previous session's N36.958 trillion.

Noteworthy stocks in today's trading included DANGOTE SUGAR, NASCON, and JOHNHOLT, all of which showed remarkable gains of +10.00%, +9.98%, and +9.92%, respectively. Conversely, CHIPLC, CORNERS, and SUNU ASSURANCE led the list of losers, with losses of -9.57%, -9.29%, and -9.09%, respectively.

Market breadth remained positive, with DANGOTE SUGAR as the top gainer, while CHIPLC led the list of losers. REGALINS took the top spot in terms of trading volume, with 83.31 million units changing hands. In total, 845.68 million units of shares were traded today, a notable increase from the previous day's 503.75 million units.

In terms of value traded, ZENITH BANK led the way with N2.80 billion, followed by UBA with N930.20 million and FIDELITY BANK with N695.03 million.

Among the big movers were BUA FOODS, GTCO, and ZENITH BANK, recording positive trading sessions with gains of 2.56%, 6.58%, and 7.85%, respectively. Conversely, MTN NIGERIA, DANGOTE CEMENT, BUA CEMENT, SEPLAT ENERGY, and AIRTEL AFRICA closed with no significant changes.

Tier 1 banks showed positive trading sessions, with GTCO, UBA, ACCESS HOLDINGS, ZENITH BANK, and FBN HOLDINGS all gaining ground.