By InvestAdvocate

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Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-The Nigerian equities market on Monday closed higher to open the week on a positive note, with the all-share index (ASI) climbing 0.12 percent to 25,485.17 points.

“Today’s positive performance increased the Month-to-Date gain to 0.62 percent and reduced the Year-to-Date loss to 5.17 percent,” Cordros daily market update reports.

The report says at the close of the trading session on the Nigerian bourse, the Banking and Insurance indices jumped 0.14 percent and 0.15 percent apiece and were bolstered by gains recorded in the shares of Nigeria’s top tier lender, Zenith Bank Plc and insurer, AIICO Insurance Plc; both appreciating 0.07 percent and 3.64 percent respectively.

Likewise, the Consumer Goods and Oil & Gas indices gained 0.46 percent and 0.15 percent each to close in green, following demand for the shares of to beer producer, Nigerian Breweries Plc and oil marketing major, Oando Plc; both inched up 0.01 percent and 0.19 percent respectively.

On the flip side, as a result of profit-taking in the shares of cement producer, Lafarge Cement Wapco Plc slumped 2.71 percent to weigh down the Industrial Goods index by 1.13 percent.

At the close of trading on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), market breadth was positive, with 17 gainers and 12 losers posted, according to data from the NSE. Softdrink maker, SevenUp Bottling Company Plc emerged the topmost gainer with a gain of N3.99 per share; while brewer, Champion Breweries Plc became the topmost loser with a loss of 0.12 kobo per share.

In terms of turnover, total volume traded at the close of business on the Nigerian equities market increased by 62.27 percent to 561.48 million shares, valued at N2.47 billion, and exchanged in 3,032 deals.

‘We expect the equities market to close higher in the session ahead,” the Cordros update added.