Zenith Bank, GTCO drive NGX index higher by 0.31% in fresh rally

Zenith Bank, GTCO, and other banking names drove the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) All-Share Index (ASI) and other key performance indicators higher on Thursday. The local bourse recovered from losing streaks on Thursday as investors began to re-entered positions in post-interest rate cut reactions. The local bourse experienced an uptrend with bullish sentiments that dominated trading activities, bolstered by interest in financial and consumer goods stocks. According to data from the Nigerian bourse, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 0.31%, closing at 141,149.04 points. The positive movement was largely driven by buying interest in ZENITHBANK, MTNN, and GTCO
Market activity strengthened, with trading volume increasing by 160.35% to 1.1 billion units, and the total transaction value reaching ₦405 billion and a total of 19,635 deals. FCMB led in trading volume, accounting for the total units traded at 202 million, while FCMB recorded the highest transaction value for the total value at ₦2.1 billion. Market breadth signalled a positive sentiment, with 31 gainers outpacing as 21 decliners, resulting in an Advance/Decline Ratio of 1.48 Supported by heavy buying interest across sectoral indexes, market capitalization rose by 0.31% on the day to close at ₦89.34 trillion.  Hence, the year-to-date (YTD) return to advance to 37.14%.