The Nigerian Exchange sustained its bullish momentum on Thursday as investors recorded a gain of N143bn, driven largely by price appreciation in Guinness Nigeria Plc, Eunisell Interlinked Plc and Regency Alliance Insurance Plc.

At the close of trading, the market capitalisation of listed equities rose from N89.89tn on Tuesday to N90.03tn, while the All-Share Index advanced 0.16 per cent to settle at 142,263.12 points.

Guinness emerged as the top gainer of the day, appreciating 9.79 per cent to close at N46.65 per share. Eunisell Interlinked followed with a 9.60 per cent increase to N5.82, while Regency Alliance Insurance gained 9.38 per cent to end at N0.70 per share.

Other gainers included Sovereign Trust Insurance, which rose 9.09 per cent to N0.48, and Consolidated Hallmark Holdings, which appreciated 8.82 per cent to N1.85.

On the losers’ chart, Royal Exchange led with a 9.86 per cent decline to N0.64 per share. Associated Bus Company shed 9.76 per cent to close at N0.37, while Daar Communications dropped 8.47 per cent to N0.54.

Deap Capital Management and African Alliance Insurance also closed in the red, falling 8.33 per cent and 8.00 per cent, respectively.

Despite the positive close, market activity declined as the total volume of shares traded fell 44.07 per cent to 377.75m units, compared to 675.37m units exchanged in the previous session.

Similarly, the value of transactions dipped 23.47 per cent to N7.46bn, against N9.75bn recorded on Tuesday.

Financial stocks dominated the activity chart, with Access Holdings leading in volume and value. The lender accounted for 52.27m shares worth N1.27bn, followed by Zenith Bank, which recorded 42.22m units valued at N1.62bn. Fidelity Bank, FBN Holdings, and United Bank for Africa also featured actively in the day’s trading.