Nigerian stocks gain N344bn as Aluminium Extrusions, RT Briscoe surge

Nigerian equities market closed higher on Friday, with investors gaining N344 billion as gains in Aluminium Extrusions, RT Briscoe, and Learn Africa lifted market value.

The All-Share Index advanced to 249,712.37 points from 249,175.39 points recorded in the previous session. Equity capitalisation rose to N160 trillion from N159.7 trillion after five hours of trading.

Market breadth closed negative, with 25 stocks advancing, 29 declining, and 93 unchanged across 62,386 deals. A total of 711.86 million shares valued at N29 billion were traded.

Aluminium Extrusions led the gainers’ chart with a 10 per cent rise to N9.90 per share, up from N9.00. RT Briscoe followed with a 9.93 per cent increase to N14.06, while Learn Africa gained 9.79 per cent to close at N12.90.

On the losing side, Trans Express fell 9.92 per cent to N5.72, Cornerstone dropped 9.24 per cent to N5.40, and The Initiate Place declined 7.97 per cent to N34.05.

Fidelity Bank dominated trading activity by volume, exchanging 192 million shares in 1,009 deals. Access Holdings traded 58 million shares in 2,570 deals, and Mutual Benefit recorded 39 million shares in 461 deals.

By value, Fidelity Bank led again with N4.4 billion worth of shares traded. Aradel followed with N3.3 billion, and Zenith Bank recorded N2.6 billion in trades.