By Yakubu LAAH InvestAdvocate

Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Monday opened the week on a bullish note as the all-share index (ASI) rose 0.58 percent to close at 27,812.06 points.

“Today’s positive close trimmed the Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date losses to 0.71 percent and 2.90 percent respectively,” according to Cordros daily market update.

The update reports that the Banking and Oil & Gas indices gained 1.28 percent and 1.00 percent each, as the shares of Nigeria’s top tier lenders, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc and Access Bank Plc climbed up 1.58 percent and 4.64 percent, while oil marketing majors, Forte Oil Plc and first dual listed Nigerian oil and gas upstream firm, Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc appreciated 1.19 percent and 2.08 percent respectively which attracted investors interest.

Similarly, the Consumer Goods and Insurance indices grew 0.93 percent and 0.11 percent each, driven by gains recorded in the shares of Nigeria’s brewing giant, Nigerian Breweries Plc and insurer, AIICO Insurance Plc by 1.44 percent and 4.76 percent each.

Cordros reports at the close of the session’s trading on the Nigerian bourse, market breadth remained positive, with 20 gainers and 11 losers posted; following market statistics released by the NSE.

Nigeria’s top tier conglomerate, Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc emerged the top gainer with a gain of 0.08 kobo per share; while soft drink producer, SevenUp Bottling Company Plc topped the losers chart with a loss of N5.28 per share to close the session.

In terms of turnover, total volume traded on the Nigerian equities market decreased by 31.29 percent to 216.17 million shares, valued at N2.83 billion, and traded in 3,316 deals.

“We expect bullish sentiments to persist in tomorrow’s session, as sentiments appear strengthened,” the Cordros update affirmed.