By Yakubu LAAH InvestAdvocate

Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-The bullish streak continued on Thursday at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) as benchmark index rose 0.35 percent to close higher at 34,705.48 points, while market capitalisation added N40.34 billion to close at N11.46 trillion.

Cordros reported that the trend is as a result of demand across various sectors of the Nigerian equities market.  ‘’The bull thrived, despite sell pressure in big names like Dangote Cement Plc (DANGCEM), Oando Plc (OANDO), Transantional Corporation of Nigeria Plc (TRANSCORP) and Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc (SEPLAT),’’ the report said.

With this result, current Month-to-Date (MTD) returns at the Nigerian bourse stands at a negative 7.58 percent, while its Year-to-Date (YTD) returns currently stands at a negative 16.03 percent as well.

However, Cordros say with only one (1) trading session remaining, the equities market is certain to post its fifth straight month-on-month loss.

In terms of sectoral performance, at the end of today’s session, the NSE reported that the Consumer Goods index topped the gainers’ chart with a 2.91 percent growth, followed by the Oil/Gas index with a 1.41 percent appreciation, while the Insurance and Banking indices climbed up 1.06 percent and 0.61 percent respectively. However, the Industrials declined by 0.66 percent.

Market breath at the Nigerian equities market ended on a positive note as it recorded 38 gainers and 18 losers. Flour Mills Nigeria Plc emerged top gainer as it went up by N4.68, while drug makers, Evans Medical Plc led the losers’ chart, by shedding 0.11 kobo.

Turnover reported at the nation’s stock market showed that volume traded declined by 24.33 percent to 486.51 million shares worth N4.63 billion and traded in 5,002 deals.

‘’We expect another positive session tomorrow due to the broad demand seen today,’’ the Cordros report affirmed.