The Nigerian Exchange extended its bullish run on Thursday, as market capitalisation surged by N677bn to close at N74.4tn.

This comes amid renewed buying interest in blue-chip stocks across key sectors, propelling the benchmark All-Share Index to 117,861.13 points, up by 1,074.26 points or 0.92 per cent.

The bullish sentiment pushed the equity market week-to-date gain to 2.79 per cent, while the year-to-date return stands strong at 14.51 per cent.

Similarly, the Top 30 Index rose by 0.96 per cent, driven by robust gains in Tier-1 banks, industrial goods, and consumer-focused stocks.

Market data from the NGX showed that a total of 893.97 million shares valued at N22.03bn were exchanged in 17,257 deals. This represents a 40 per cent increase in trading volume when compared with Wednesday’s session, although turnover declined by 15 per cent and the number of deals dipped by 13 per cent.

A total of 130 equities participated in trading, with 43 gainers and 20 losers at the close of the session. Leading the gainers’ chart was Ikeja Hotel Plc, which appreciated by 10 per cent to close at N15.40 per share. It was followed closely by Beta Glass Plc with a 9.98 per cent gain to settle at N276.00; Legend Internet rose by 9.92 per cent to N7.20, while University Press advanced by 9.85 per cent to N6.02 per share.

On the other hand, Guinea Insurance Plc topped the losers’ table with a 9.21 per cent decline to N0.69 per share. Other notable decliners included Haldane McCall (-5.88 per cent to N4.00), C&I Leasing (-5.84 per cent to N4.35), and McNichols (-5.58 per cent to N2.20).

From a volume perspective, Champion Breweries Plc dominated activity with 332 million shares traded, followed by Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc with 62.7 million shares, PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc with 46.6 million shares, and Zenith Bank Plc with 37.6 million shares.

Sectoral performance reflected the broad-based rally, with all key indices closing in the green. The Banking Index soared by 2.99 per cent, the Insurance Index climbed 1.53 per cent, while the Consumer Goods Index rose by 1.02 per cent. Also, the Premium Index and Pension Index advanced by 1.33 per cent and 1.32 per cent, respectively. Notably, the Consumer Goods Index has posted an impressive 45.83 per cent year-to-date gain, underlining the sector’s strong investor appeal.

The PUNCH reported that the Nigerian Exchange closed on a positive note on Wednesday, as buying interest in insurance and oil and gas stocks drove a broad-based rally, resulting in a market capitalisation gain of N1.18tn, the largest single-day rise recorded so far this week.