Equity investors gained approximately ₦574 billion on Tuesday as bullish sentiment continued to dominate the Nigerian Exchange (NGX). The persistent rally, driven by value-hunting and a wave of interim dividend announcements, reflects strong investor appetite amid ongoing earnings releases.
The NGX All-Share Index (ASI) climbed 0.64% to close at 144,074.23 points, pushing the year-to-date return to 40.87%. Market capitalisation rose in tandem, adding ₦583.74 billion to settle at ₦91.73 trillion.
The gains were powered by increased demand for mid- to large-cap stocks such as BUA Cement (+10.00%), Sterling Financial (+9.93%), Unilever (+7.38%), and Oando (+5.69%). Other notable performers included ETI (+4.41%), UACN (+2.99%), NAHCO (+1.93%), Fidelity Bank (+1.42%), Transcorp (+1.40%), Aradel Holdings (+1.17%), VFD Group (+0.75%), and Wema Bank (+0.40%).
Analysts attributed the sustained rally to investors rotating funds from fixed-income instruments into equities, seeking higher returns amid renewed confidence in market fundamentals.
Trading activity also saw a boost, with total volume rising 24.13% and total value up 14.29%. Investors traded 1.01 billion units worth ₦22.25 billion across 38,481 deals.
AIICO topped the volume chart, accounting for 9.47% of shares traded, followed by Universal Insurance (8.51%), Linkage Assurance (6.24%), Fidelity Bank (5.77%), and Veritas Kapital (4.89%). In value terms, GTCO led the board, contributing 17.22% of total traded value.
Top gainers for the day included AIICO, BUA Cement, Mutual Benefits, Neimeth, Enamelware, and Sunu Assurance—all with a 10.00% gain. Others were SterlingNG (+9.93%), Veritas Kapital (+9.87%), Abbey Mortgage Bank (+9.87%), John Holt (+9.85%), and Cornerstone Insurance (+9.79%).
Meanwhile, 21 stocks recorded losses. LivingTrust was the top laggard, shedding 9.86%. Other losers included Mecure (-9.20%), Cadbury (-7.35%), First HoldCo (-4.76%), Tantalizer (-3.82%), and Lafarge Africa (-1.68%).
The market breadth remained strongly positive, with 52 gainers and 21 decliners.
Sector performance was largely upbeat: Insurance (+7.51%), Industrial Goods (+3.35%), Oil & Gas (+0.91%), and Commodities (+0.20%) closed in the green. However, the Banking (-0.86%) and Consumer Goods (-0.43%) sectors recorded slight declines.
