The Nigerian Exchange maintained its upward trajectory as the overall market capitalisation crossed the N132tn threshold, bolstered by significant gains in 40 listed stocks. At the close of the trading session on Tuesday, the market capitalisation rose by N883bn to settle at N132.492tn, while the All-Share Index advanced by 1,372.52 points, or 0.67 per cent, to end at 205,831.38 points.

This bullish performance was primarily driven by price appreciation in large and medium capitalised stocks, most notably Seplat Energy, Nigerian Exchange Group, Stanbic IBTC Holdings, Lafarge Africa, and MeCure Industries.

Investor sentiment remained firmly positive as market breadth finished with 40 gainers against 21 decliners. Ecobank Transnational Incorporated and Stanbic IBTC Holdings emerged as the primary drivers of the rally, with both stocks gaining 10 per cent to close at N4.60 and N161.70, respectively.

The Nigerian Exchange Group followed closely with a 9.97 per cent appreciation to close at N168.75 per share, while Cornerstone Insurance and MeCure Industries saw their share prices rise 9.94 per cent and 9.92 per cent, respectively.

Conversely, the losers’ chart was led by Fortis Global Insurance, which shed 8.20 per cent to close at N1.12, followed by McNichols Consolidated and Academy Press, which declined 8.17 per cent and 6.96 per cent.

Liquidity in the market saw a significant boost as the total volume traded appreciated by 21.13 per cent to 569.309 million units, valued at N32.250bn across 45,777 deals. Access Holdings dominated activity by volume with 67.530 million shares worth N1.746bn, while Zenith Bank led in terms of value with 39.741 million shares exchanged for N4.50bn.

Other highly traded equities included VFD Group, Guaranty Trust Holding Company, and Lasaco Assurance. Regarding the market outlook, analysts at Futureview Group indicated that the market is expected to sustain its positive bias in the near term as investors continue to position themselves in fundamentally sound stocks, though they cautioned that intermittent profit-taking could potentially temper the upside.