Stock market rises by 1.4% in holiday shortened week

In the holiday shortened trading week ended Friday, May 3, Nigeria’s equities market rose by 1.4 percent.

Investors interest in banking and insurance stocks helped push the market higher despite sell off in consumer goods, industrial, and oil & gas stocks.

The All Share Index (ASI) rose to close at 99,587.25 points while the market capitalisation gained N811.48billion to close at N56.32trillion.

“We expect the market to trade in a mixed manner on Monday, as the positive sentiment from this week filters out of the market, especially with key names having already released their latest quarterly performance numbers,” according to Lagos-based Vetiva Research analysts.

The market’s year-to-date return rose to 33.18 percent.