The Nigerian Exchange Limited began the week on a bullish note, adding N279bn to its market capitalisation on Monday as investors showed renewed interest in key stocks across several sectors.

At the close of trading, the market capitalisation rose from N74.55tn on Friday to N74.83tn, while the All-Share Index appreciated by 441.43 points, or 0.37 per cent, to close at 118,579.65.

The positive sentiment in the market was driven by gains in large and mid-cap stocks, including Presco Plc, Beta Glass, Champion Breweries, and Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals, all of which recorded the maximum gain of 10 per cent.

Presco Plc, Beta Glass, Champion Breweries, Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals and FTN Cocoa Processors all recorded the maximum gain of 10 per cent.

They closed at N1,210, N303.60, N9.02, N4.07 and N3.08 per share, respectively. Legend Intercontinental also saw a strong gain, rising by 9.97 per cent to close at N8.71.

On the losing end, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc led with a 7.48 per cent decline to close at N117.50. Chams Holdings Plc and Secure Electronic Technology Plc both dropped by 5 per cent to close at N2.05 and N0.57, respectively.

Multiverse Mining & Exploration Plc declined by 4.66 per cent to N9.20, followed by Red Star Express Plc, which lost 3.85 per cent to close at N7.50, and ABC Transport Plc, which dipped 3.70 per cent to N2.60.

The market activity saw improvement with a total of 653.66 million shares valued at N21.33bn exchanged in 22,206 deals, representing a 25 per cent increase in volume, an eight per cent increase in turnover, and a 25 per cent jump in deals compared to Friday’s session.

However, the market also recorded 22 losers, led by Julius Berger, which declined by 7.48 per cent to close at N117.50, followed by Chams down by 5.09 per cent, Secure Electronic Technology down by five per cent, and Multiverse Mining down by 4.66 per cent.

Fidelity Bank emerged as the most traded stock by volume with 142 million shares, trailed by Zenith Bank with 46.3 million, Nigerian Breweries with 38.1 million, and FTN Cocoa with 38 million.

The sectoral performance showed strong gains across major indices. The Insurance Index rose by 1.9 per cent, the Consumer Goods Index added 0.73 per cent, the Banking Index advanced by 0.62 per cent, and the Oil and Gas Index gained 0.43 per cent.

The latest rally pushed the NGX to a one-week gain of 2.88 per cent, a four-week gain of 8.17 per cent, and a year-to-date return of 15.21 per cent, indicating improving investor sentiment despite macroeconomic uncertainties.

The PUNCH reported that the Nigerian Exchange recorded an upswing last week, as the market capitalisation appreciated by N1.875tn, driven by strong buying interest in key banking stocks, including Zenith Bank Plc, Access Holdings Plc, and Champion Breweries Plc.