Nigeria’s equities market sustained its bullish momentum on Thursday, delivering fresh gains to investors as renewed buying interest in heavyweight consumer and industrial stocks lifted overall market performance. The rally marked the fourth consecutive session of positive movement during the trading week, reinforcing growing optimism on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX).
Market capitalization expanded significantly during the session, rising by ₦331 billion to close at ₦95.856 trillion, compared with the previous opening level of ₦95.525 trillion. This growth reflected a 0.35 per cent increase, underscoring the continued appetite for select equities amid improving market sentiment.
In tandem with the rise in market value, the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) advanced by 520.23 points, representing a 0.35 per cent gain. The benchmark index settled at 150,363.05 points, up from the 149,842.82 points recorded at the close of trading on Wednesday. As a result of the sustained rally, the market’s year-to-date return strengthened further to 46.09 per cent.
Investor participation was notably skewed toward stocks in the consumer goods, industrial, and services sectors, where price appreciation was driven by sustained demand. Nestlé Nigeria emerged as the session’s top performer, posting a 10 per cent increase to close at ₦1,958 per share. Guinness Nigeria followed closely with a 9.98 per cent gain, ending the day at ₦289.70.
Aluminium Extrusion Industries also recorded a strong performance, rising by 9.76 per cent to settle at ₦11.25 per share. Daar Communications gained 9.20 per cent, closing at 95 kobo, while MeCure Industries appreciated by 9.13 per cent to finish at ₦55 per share.
Market breadth closed on a positive note, reflecting broader participation across listed equities. A total of 35 stocks recorded price gains during the session, while 26 stocks closed in negative territory.
On the losing side, Stanbic IBTC Holdings led the decliners after shedding 9.33 per cent to close at ₦95.20 per share. LASACO Assurance followed with a 9.09 per cent decline, ending the session at ₦2.50. Africa Prudential also recorded notable losses, dipping by 8.82 per cent to settle at ₦12.40 per share.
AustinLaz fell by 8.33 per cent to close at ₦2.20, while Sterling Financial Holdings declined by 6.12 per cent, finishing at ₦6.90 per share.
Trading activity for the day showed a moderation compared with the previous session. A total of 839.8 million shares, valued at ₦32.8 billion, were exchanged across 23,211 transactions. This represented a decline from the 5.9 billion shares worth ₦216.2 billion traded in 25,205 deals recorded earlier.
First HoldCo emerged as the most actively traded stock by both volume and value, with 385.62 million shares changing hands, amounting to a turnover of ₦15.54 billion.
Despite softer trading volumes, Thursday’s performance reinforced the market’s bullish undertone, with sustained interest in fundamentally strong stocks continuing to support price appreciation across key sectors.
