The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) opened the new week on a strong note, adding more than ₦786 billion in market capitalization as oil and gas, as well as insurance stocks, led a broad market rally.
The All-Share Index climbed 0.86% to close at 144,822.61 points, driving year-to-date returns to 40.71%. The bullish sentiment boosted the NGX’s total market capitalization to ₦91.92 trillion.
Analysts attributed the positive performance to renewed interest in blue-chip and mid-tier equities, supported by moderating macroeconomic conditions and easing yields in the fixed-income market.
Despite the upbeat session, overall market activity declined as total trading volume and value dropped by 4.56% and 25.89%, respectively. A total of 519.92 million units valued at ₦14.55 billion were exchanged in 35,490 deals, according to data from Atlass Portfolio Limited.
ELLAHLAKES dominated trading in terms of volume, accounting for 15.45% of total shares traded, followed by CHAMS (5.83%), STERLINGNG (4.77%), CUSTODIAN (4.21%), and GTCO (3.87%).
GTCO also emerged as the most traded stock by value, representing 13.59% of total turnover.
Top gainers included MANSARD and SEPLAT, each appreciating by 10.00%, followed by ELLAHLAKES (+9.95%), CHAMS (+9.87%), OMATEK (+9.84%), and SOVRENINS (+9.82%). In total, 46 stocks advanced while 23 declined.
On the losers’ side, INTENEGINS led with an -8.42% drop, trailed by THOMASWY (-7.72%), BERGER (-6.80%), ARADEL (-3.09%), CADBURY (-1.99%), and ACCESSCORP (-1.89%).
Sectoral indices all closed positive: Oil & Gas (+3.35%), Insurance (+3.13%), Commodity (+1.72%), Banking (+0.64%), Consumer Goods (+0.12%), and Industrial (+0.01%).
Although the volume and value of trades dipped, the 31.13% surge in deal count reflected increased participation from retail investors and high-frequency traders, suggesting a deepening bullish sentiment in the market.
Market analysts expect the rally to persist in the short term as investors continue to rotate into energy and insurance stocks for higher returns amid easing rates in the fixed-income space.
 opened the new week on a strong note, adding more than ₦786 billion in market capitalization as oil and gas, as well as insurance stocks, led a broad market rally.){kind=link}