The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) recorded another positive trading session on Tuesday, with the benchmark index climbing 29 basis points, largely driven by strong performances in the banking and insurance sectors.
The rally was bolstered by renewed investor interest in tier-one stocks such as Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) and Lafarge Africa Plc (WAPCO). Gains in smaller-cap companies also contributed to the market’s overall growth.
Top gainers included REGALINS, MECURE, ETRANZACT, DAAR Communications, and DEAP Capital, while notable laggards were UNILEVER, FTN Cocoa, Ellah Lakes, Linkage Assurance, and Berger Paints.
Among the strongest performers were WAPCO (+6.15%), MANSARD (+6.13%), AIICO (+4.44%), International Breweries (+4.07%), UCAP (+3.85%), and PZ Cussons (+2.41%). Banking giants such as FCMB (+2.38%), Access Holdings (+0.78%), Fidelity Bank (+0.74%), GTCO (+0.54%), UBA (+0.43%), and Zenith Bank (+0.38%) also closed in positive territory.
The All-Share Index settled at 139,796.11 points, marking its third straight gain, while market capitalisation increased by ₦254 billion to reach ₦88.5 trillion.
Market breadth remained strong, with 35 gainers outpacing 19 losers, giving a ratio of 1.84x. REGALINS led the gainers’ chart with a 10% surge, while UNILEVER topped the losers’ list with a 9.79% decline.
Despite the bullish outcome, total trading volume and value dropped by 30.46% and 29.70% respectively, closing at 659.2 million units valued at ₦12.5 billion. FCMB dominated both value and volume charts, accounting for 202.5 million units worth ₦2.1 billion, largely due to structured trades totaling 190 million units at ₦10.35 per share, executed through CardinalStone Securities.
Sectoral performance was largely positive, led by the Insurance Index (+0.98%) on the back of MANSARD and AIICO gains. The Industrial Goods Index (+0.85%) advanced with support from WAPCO, while Banking (+0.43%) and Consumer Goods (+0.28%) indices also posted modest growth.
The Oil & Gas Index fell slightly by 0.05%, weighed down by OANDO (-0.53%), while the Commodity Index ended flat.
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