The Nigerian Exchange Limited recorded a bullish performance on Wednesday as renewed investor interest in banking and insurance stocks lifted market capitalisation by N245bn.
At the close of trading, the total market capitalisation rose to N95.6tn, reflecting broad-based gains across key sectors despite a decline in the overall trading volume.
The All-Share Index advanced by 383.71 points, or 0.26 per cent, to close at 149,842.82. This performance translated into a one-week gain of 2.03 per cent, a four-week gain of 3.59 per cent and a year-to-date return of 45.58 per cent.
Trading activity showed mixed sentiment, with a total of 651.18 million shares exchanged in 25,180 deals, valued at N19.0bn. Compared with the previous trading session, market volume declined by 29 per cent and turnover fell by six per cent, while the number of deals increased by six per cent, indicating selective buying by investors.
A total of 129 listed equities participated in the session, with 39 stocks recording gains against 23 losers, underscoring positive market breadth.
Aso Savings and Loans led the gainers, posting a 200 per cent appreciation to close at N3.21 per share. First HoldCo followed with a 10 per cent gain to N39.60, while Lasaco Assurance and Veritas Kapital Assurance both advanced by 10 per cent to close at N2.75 and N1.76, respectively. Prestige Assurance also gained 10 per cent to close at N1.65, while MeCure Industries rose by 9.92 per cent to N50.40.
On the losers’ table, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank topped the decliners, shedding 10 per cent to close at N3.15 per share. International Energy Insurance dropped by 9.92 per cent to N2.27, and McNichols declined by 6.90 per cent to N2.97, while Omatek Ventures and Chams fell by 6.84 per cent and 6.41 per cent to close at N1.09 and N2.92, respectively.
Sectoral indices closed largely in positive territory, driven by strong performance in financial stocks. The Banking Index rose by 1.48 per cent, while the Insurance Index climbed by 2.02 per cent. The Pension Index advanced by 0.63 per cent, the Premium Index gained 0.29 per cent and the Main Board Index increased by 0.21 per cent.
In terms of activity, First HoldCo led the volume chart with 108.15 million shares traded, valued at N4.21bn. This was followed by Sterling Bank with 87.31 million shares, FCMB Group with 74.28 million shares and Access Holdings with 41.51 million shares. First HoldCo also emerged as the most traded stock by value, while Zenith Bank, Vitafoam, GTCO and Access Holdings featured prominently on the value chart.
Analysts attributed the market’s positive close to renewed bargain hunting in banking and insurance stocks, noting that improved earnings expectations and attractive valuations continue to support investor confidence in the equity market.
They added that sustained buying interest in fundamentally strong stocks could keep the market on an upward trajectory in the near term, despite intermittent profit-taking.
