NGX Market Cap Crosses ₦82 Trillion Mark As BUA And Dangote Cement Lead Gains

Nigeria’s equity market soared to a fresh milestone on Thursday, with the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) crossing a market capitalization of ₦82 trillion, propelled by a strong showing in cement giants like Dangote Cement and BUA Cement

This upward movement followed renewed optimism around Nigeria’s slowing inflation trend, as investors channeled funds into blue-chip stocks. Despite a wider market breadth showing more losers than gainers due to profit-taking activities, the surge in demand for high-value stocks helped extend the NGX’s winning streak to its 11th consecutive session.

The NGX All-Share Index closed at a historic high of 130,147.57 points, advancing by 1,180.49 basis points, equivalent to a 0.92% gain. However, market participation weakened, with total trade volume and value plunging by 89.89% and 88.36%, respectively.

Atlass Portfolio Limited reported that investors traded about 1.18 billion units valued at ₦42.30 billion across 37,094 transactions during the day.

ACCESSCORP topped the trading volume chart, contributing 14.13% of total trades, followed by FIRSTHOLDCO (7.26%), ZENITHBANK (7.00%), Nigeria Breweries (5.76%), and AIICO (5.48%).

In terms of transaction value, ZENITHBANK emerged as the top performer, accounting for 14.73% of total trade value.

Leading the gainers’ chart, BUACEMENT recorded a 10% price increase, followed closely by DANGCEM (9.99%), CHAMS (9.96%), FIRSTHOLDCO (9.94%), ABCTRANS (9.85%), and EUNISELL (9.76%). In total, 29 stocks recorded gains during the session.

However, 46 equities closed lower, reflecting a bearish undertone in broader market sentiment. HMCALL, MECURE, BERGER, JOHNHOLT, MAYBAKER, and RTBRISCOE each saw their share prices tumble by 10%. Additional decliners included FTNCOCOA (-9.97%), NEIMETH (-9.90%), CONHALLPLC (-9.76%), UBA (-8.91%), and GTCO (-7.87%).

Sector-wise performance revealed a mixed picture. While the industrial and consumer goods sectors rose by 9.08% and 0.54% respectively, the banking sector lost 2.34%, insurance declined 0.89%, and oil & gas dropped 0.61%.

Despite the broad decline in trade activity and sectoral weakness, the market capitalization surged by ₦746.78 billion, closing at ₦82.33 trillion, signaling continued investor confidence in Nigeria’s blue-chip equities.