The equities market recorded a historic gain of N1.662 trillion on Tuesday at the close of trading, reflecting sustained bullish sentiment among investors.

This marked the 22nd consecutive bullish session, underscoring renewed investor confidence driven by increased demand for blue-chip stocks and positive market momentum.

Market capitalisation rose by 1.59 per cent, closing at N106.182 trillion, up from N104.520 trillion recorded in the previous session.

Similarly, the All-Share Index (ASI) appreciated by 1.59 per cent, gaining 2,592.64 points to close at 165,837.33, compared with 163,244.69 recorded in the preceding session.

This pushed the year-to-date return to 6.57 per cent.

The market breadth also closed positive, with 56 gainers against 14 losers.

Leading the gainers’ table were MTN Nigeria, PZ Cussons, Etranzact International, Caverton Offshore Support Group, and Deap Capital Management, each rising by 10 per cent to close at N605, N58.30, N18.15, N7.70, and N3.63 per share, respectively.

On the losers’ table, Universal Insurance led with a 6.25 per cent drop to N1.20, Prestige Assurance declined by 5.81 per cent to N1.62, and Regency Alliance Insurance lost 5.17 per cent, settling at N1.10 per share.

Similarly, Academy Press shed 5.06 per cent to N7.50, while Royal Exchange dipped 3.98 per cent to N1.93 per share.

A total of 1.131 billion shares valued at N33.5 billion were traded across 49,216 transactions, compared with 1.149 billion shares worth N19.2 billion exchanged in 59,359 deals during the previous session.

This represented a 75 per cent increase in market value, a 17 per cent decline in deals, and a 2 per cent drop in volume.

Meanwhile, Sovereign Trust Insurance recorded the highest volume, with 344 million shares traded.

(NAN)