Rhoda Ogunseye 
Equity investors continued reaping profits on Nigerian Exchange Limited on Monday as the new week started with the NGX All-Share Index rising by 0.27 per cent. Market capitalisation of stocks increased by N80.7 billion from N29.53 trillion to N29.61 trillion after trading closed on the floor of the exchange on Monday.
This was in spite of a broader reduction in the trading volume as investors exchanged 184.14 million shares valued at N4.61 trillion in 4,301 deals, 31.3 per cent lower than the previous day’s tally of 268.02 million shares worth N2.35 billion in 4,017 deals. At the end of trading, financial services stocks dominated turnover, occupying 67.56 per cent of the total value of trades. ICT followed at 10.27 per cent while conglomerates were in third with 7.89 per cent. Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc was the most traded stock by volume and value as 48.20 million shares worth N1.21bn were traded in 358 deals.
Chams Holding Company Plc followed by volume while Airtel Africa Plc was second most traded by value. Of the five sectoral indices on NGX, the NGX Insurance index was the best performing with a 0.33 per cent rise, followed by NGX Industrial (0.03%), and NGX Consumer Goods (0.01%). The NGX Banking and NGX Oil/Gas indices declined by 0.46 per cent and 0.02 per cent respectively. The top five gainers on Monday were Sovereign Trust Insurance (10.00%), Linkage Assurance Plc (8.89%), International Energy Insurance Plc (8.08%), Industrial & Medical Gases Plc (4.55%), and Courtville Business Solutions Plc (4.08%). The decliners were McNichols Plc (-8.96%), Prestige Assurance Plc (-8.70%), FTN Cocoa Processors Plc (-6.06%), J.A. Paul Gold & Ventures Plc (-5.88%), and Sunu Assurance Plc (-5.88%).
