Shares of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc jumped 6.83 percent to N43 on Wednesday as investors traded 38.48 million shares of the lender, making it the most actively traded equity by volume on the Nigerian Exchange.
UBA gained N2.75 from its previous closing price of N40.25 during the October 28 trading session, outperforming the broader equities market as the NGX All-Share Index declined 0.44 percent.
The 38.48 million UBA shares traded during the session were valued at approximately N1.57 billion.
UBA alone accounted for about 9.5 percent of the 404.11 million shares exchanged across the equities market during the day.
The lender’s performance also stood out within a session heavily concentrated in banking stocks.
Access Holdings recorded 30.74 million shares worth N881.53 million, while Zenith Bank traded 30.57 million shares valued at N3.67 billion.
GTCO followed with 26.33 million shares worth N3.18 billion.
Combined, UBA, Access Holdings, Zenith Bank and GTCO accounted for approximately 126.12 million shares, representing 31.2 percent of the total volume traded on the NGX.
The four banking stocks also generated approximately N9.31 billion in transaction value, equivalent to about 33.4 percent of the N27.91 billion recorded across the market.
UBA’s 6.83 percent advance contrasted sharply with the performance of First HoldCo, another major financial stock, which declined by the maximum 10 percent from N155 to N139.50 during the session.
The contrasting moves came as the broader market closed lower, with the All-Share Index dropping 1,107.28 points from 253,990.06 to 252,882.78 points.
Equities market capitalisation closed at N164.194 trillion.
Overall, investors traded 404.11 million shares valued at N27.91 billion across 39,012 deals with UBA emerging as both one of the session’s strongest-performing equities and the most actively traded stock by volume.
