The stock market sustained its positive momentum on Wednesday, gaining N245 billion in market capitalisation.

The market’s upward movement was driven by gains in equities such as Prestige Assurance, Veritas Kapital Assurance, First Holding Company, Lasaco Assurance and 38 other stocks.

Market capitalisation increased by 0.26 per cent, adding N245 billion to investors’ portfolios as the market opened at N95.280 trillion and closed higher at N95.525 trillion.

Similarly, the All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 0.26 per cent, advancing by 383.71 points to close at 149,842.82, compared with 149,459.11 recorded on Tuesday.

Consequently, the year-to-date (YTD) return rose to 45.58 per cent, while market breadth closed positive with 42 gainers and 24 losers.

FG142037S2 led the gainers’ chart with a 44.44 per cent increase, finishing at N130. First Holding Company and Lasaco Assurance rose by 10 per cent each, ending the session at N39.60 and N2.75 per share, respectively.

Veritas Kapital and Prestige Assurance also gained 10 per cent each, closing at N1.76 and N1.65 per share, respectively.

On the other side, Livingtrust Mortgage Bank led the losers’ chart with a 10 per cent decline, settling at N3.15. International Energy Insurance followed with a 9.92 per cent drop to close at N2.27, while McNicholas declined by 6.90 per cent to finish at N2.97 per share.

Omatek Ventures dipped by 6.84 per cent to close at N1.09, while CHAMS fell by 6.41 per cent to settle at N2.92 per share.

An evaluation of market activity showed overall growth in trading volume, value and deals.

A total of 5.9 billion shares worth N216.2 billion were traded in 25,205 transactions, compared with 1.03 billion shares valued at N21.8 billion exchanged across 23,701 deals in the previous session.

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated recorded the highest volume and value, with 5.25 billion shares traded, valued at N168.66 billion.

(NAN)