The Nigerian equities market kicked off the second week of March on a positive note as heavy-hitting trading activity drove the total value of transactions to N31.23bn on Monday.
Amidst a broader market rally, Aradel Holdings and FTG Insurance emerged as the primary catalysts of liquidity, dominating both volume and value charts on the Nigerian Exchange.
The benchmark All-Share Index edged up 0.12 per cent, closing Monday’s session at 197,196.97 points, up from the previous close of 196,968.15.
This steady climb pushed the total market capitalisation to a staggering N126.58tn, representing a single-day gain of N146.87bn for investors.
While the overall market sentiment remained positive, the year-to-date return has now strengthened to 26.72 per cent, underscoring a resilient appetite for Nigerian stocks despite broader economic pressures.
Trading intensity saw a significant uptick as total volume rose 30.09 per cent, with 762.53m shares changing hands across 86,488 deals. FTG Insurance claimed the title of the most traded stock by volume, with 127.46m shares moving through the market, accounting for roughly 16.71 per cent of the day’s total trading volume.
Meanwhile, Aradel Holdings led the pack in terms of financial value, seeing N5.07bn worth of its shares traded, representing 16.24 per cent of the total market turnover for the day.
Other high-activity stocks included Access Corporation and Zenith Bank, which remained investor favourites.
Despite the rise in the index, market breadth actually closed in the negative, with 43 decliners outweighing 26 gainers.
The index was largely buoyed by heavyweight stocks that saw double-digit or near-double-digit growth, including Conoil, which rose 10.00 per cent, and NGX Group, which climbed 9.97 per cent to hit a 52-week high of N166.00.
Oando and Eterna also posted significant gains of 9.96 per cent and 9.92 per cent, respectively.
On the flip side, ALEX led the laggards, while several other mid-cap stocks faced selling pressure, preventing a more widespread market rally.
The absence of new financial statements during the session suggests that Monday’s movement was primarily driven by technical positioning and portfolio rebalancing by institutional investors.
With Legend Internet and Premium Paints also hitting new 52-week highs alongside the NGX Group, analysts expect the market to remain volatile but optimistic as the week progresses.
This sustained interest in key sectors suggests that investors are looking past the high number of decliners to focus on the value provided by market leaders.
