Nigeria’s equities market maintained its bullish momentum on Thursday, delivering another strong session that expanded investor wealth by N1.698 trillion. Sustained buying interest across mid- and large-cap counters drove the rally, as institutional and retail participants positioned aggressively in fundamentally strong stocks. Market capitalisation advanced from N122.236 trillion at the opening bell to N123.934 trillion at the close of trading, reflecting a 1.39 per cent appreciation.
In parallel, the benchmark All-Share Index (ASI) climbed 2,645.61 basis points, representing a 1.39 per cent gain, moving from 190,427.96 to settle at 193,073.57. The performance further lifted the year-to-date return to 24.09 per cent, reinforcing positive investor sentiment.
Strong Earnings and Dividend Outlook Drive Buying Pressure
Market analysts attribute the rally to continued accumulation in dividend-yielding stocks and companies reporting robust earnings. Investor appetite remained elevated in counters including Okomu Oil, Deap Capital Management, Fortis Global Insurance, Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank, Zichis Agro Allied Industries and 47 additional gainers.
Okomu Oil, Deap Capital Management and Fortis Global Insurance topped the gainers’ chart after each appreciating by 10 per cent to close at N1,459.70, N6.93 and 55 kobo respectively. Zichis Agro Allied Industries and Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank recorded gains of 9.96 per cent apiece, settling at N14.35 and N15.79 per share.
Heightened participation from Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) also provided liquidity support, as fresh inflows were directed toward fundamentally sound large-cap stocks.
Market Breadth Remains Positive
The trading session closed with a positive market breadth of 52 gainers against 26 losers, underscoring broad-based participation. On the downside, Multiverse Mining, McNichols Plc, Tripple Gee & Company and Secure Electronic Technology recorded declines of 10 per cent each, closing at N25.20, N8.28, N5.40 and N1.80 respectively. Meyer Plc shed 9.80 per cent to end the day at N20.70 per share.
Trading activity, however, moderated compared to the previous session. A total of 898.5 million shares valued at N38.5 billion were exchanged in 61,953 deals. This represented a 76 per cent contraction in volume, a 38 per cent drop in value and a 10 per cent decline in transaction count compared to Wednesday’s 3.7 billion shares worth N61.9 billion traded in 68,693 deals.
Japaul Gold led in volume terms with 80.12 million shares traded, accounting for 9.17 per cent of total daily volume. GTCO recorded the highest value turnover at N6.20 billion, representing 16.51 per cent of total value traded.
The continued upward trajectory signals strong liquidity conditions and sustained confidence in Nigeria’s capital market.
