The Nigerian equities market witnessed a significant upswing on Wednesday as investors’ wealth rose by N360 billion, powered by notable gains in cement and oil stocks.
Fresh data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) revealed that the benchmark indicators advanced by 0.41 per cent, reflecting renewed investor confidence, bargain hunting, and strong market momentum.
The rally was largely fueled by robust demand in medium and large-cap stocks including Chellaram, FTN Cocoa Processors, Berger Paints, Sunu Assurances, Livestock Feeds, and 33 other equities.
Major drivers of the surge were WAPCO, which appreciated by 6.71%, Dangote Cement (+1.50%), and Aradel Holdings (+3.68%), pushing market capitalisation to N88.813 trillion, up from N88.453 trillion on Tuesday.
The All-Share Index (ASI) also climbed by 569.25 points to close at 140,356.36, while market breadth stayed positive with 38 gainers and 27 losers.
Top gainers included Chellaram (+10.00%, closing at N12.10), FTN Cocoa Processors (+10.00%, closing at N5.94), Berger Paints (+9.86%, N39.00), and Sunu Assurances (+8.91%, N8.00).
On the flip side, FG162029S1 shed 49.49% to close at N55.00, while May & Baker (-9.97%), Union Dicon Salt (-9.72%), C&I Leasing (-7.69%), and Thomas Wyatt Nigeria (-7.04%) were among the session’s biggest laggards.
Trading activity surged, with 767.7 million shares worth N40.64 billion exchanged across 24,837 deals, compared with 659.2 million shares valued at N12.5 billion in the previous session.
FCMB Group dominated the trading chart with 287.7 million shares worth N3.1 billion, followed by Nigerian Breweries (50.5m shares, N3.5bn), Aradel Holdings (43.4m shares, N23bn), and Access Holdings (40.3m shares, N1.1bn).
