Equity investors on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) recorded significant gains on Tuesday as renewed bargain hunting triggered a broad-based rally, lifting market capitalisation by ₦411 billion.
Trading activities closed on a positive note, with the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) advancing by 0.42 percent to finish at 155,034.72 points. As a result, total market capitalisation expanded by ₦411.35 billion to ₦98.84 trillion.
The bullish performance was driven by notable price appreciation in heavyweight stocks, including BUA Foods, which gained 3.88 percent, BUA Cement (+2.00 percent), Guaranty Trust Holding Company (+1.62 percent), and Wema Bank, which surged by 6.28 percent.
Overall market sentiment remained firmly positive, with market breadth closing at 1.88 times. A total of 45 stocks recorded gains, led by Guinea Insurance, Julius Berger, and Honeywell Flour Mills, each rising by the maximum 10 percent. In comparison, 24 equities closed in negative territory, with LivingTrust Mortgage Bank and Union Dicon Salt declining by 10 percent apiece.
Trading activity accelerated sharply, as total volume exchanged jumped by 223.8 percent to 4.7 trillion units, while transaction value rose by 10.1 percent to ₦38.9 trillion.
Cornerstone Insurance dominated trading, emerging as the most active stock by both volume and value. The insurer accounted for 3.7 billion units, representing 78.4 percent of total market volume, valued at ₦18.5 billion, or 47.7 percent of total traded value.
The surge was largely attributed to large block trades involving approximately 3.6 billion units executed at ₦5.05 per share across 10 separate tranches, significantly boosting market turnover.
Sectoral performance was broadly positive. The Insurance Index led the gainers, rising by 1.58 percent, followed by Consumer Goods (+0.84 percent), Industrial Goods (+0.77 percent), and Oil and Gas (+0.33 percent). Key contributors included Mansard Insurance (+5.38 percent), BUA Foods (+3.88 percent), BUA Cement (+2.00 percent), and Oando, which advanced by 5.12 percent.
On the downside, the Banking Index declined by 0.48 percent, weighed down by a sharp 9.94 percent drop in First HoldCo shares. The Commodity Index closed flat.
 recorded significant gains on Tuesday as renewed bargain hunting triggered a broad-based rally, lifting market capitalisation by ₦411 billion.){kind=link}