The Nigerian stock market maintained its bullish momentum on Tuesday, with the year-to-date (YTD) return rising to 41.91% as renewed bargain hunting in financial, consumer goods, and industrial stocks boosted investor portfolios by ₦110 billion.
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) All-Share Index (ASI) edged higher by 0.12%, closing at 146,055.89 points. The modest rally was underpinned by increased buying interest in several mid- to large-cap equities, reinforcing investor optimism about market performance.
The upward movement was driven by notable gains in companies such as FCMB, VFD Group, UBA, Ecobank, United Capital, AIICO Insurance, AXA Mansard, NEM Insurance, Julius Berger, Lafarge Africa, and Transcorp Plc.
Market analysts attributed the ASI’s climb to stronger market fundamentals, an upbeat corporate earnings outlook, and resilient investor sentiment. Consequently, market capitalization surged by ₦110 billion to ₦92.41 trillion, while market breadth closed positive with 49 gainers outperforming 29 decliners, reflecting an active tussle between bargain hunters and profit-takers.
Trading volume, however, dipped by 39.63% even as the value of transactions rose by 25.03%. A total of 1.277 billion units of shares worth ₦24.25 billion changed hands in 31,155 deals.
In terms of activity, LASACO led the volume chart with 8.40% of total trades, followed closely by Japaul Gold (8.38%), Sterling Financial Holdings (7.67%), AIICO Insurance (5.09%), and Access Holdings (4.79%).
GTCO emerged as the most traded equity by value, accounting for 10.85% of total transactions.
Top gainers of the day included ABCTRANS, Prestige Assurance, TIP, WAPIC, Champion Breweries, Ellah Lakes, Mansard Insurance, and Sunu Assurances — all appreciating by 10% each. They were followed by Julius Berger (+9.99%), Mutual Benefits (+9.97%), Veritas Kapital (+9.96%), Cornerstone Insurance (+9.93%), and Royal Exchange (+9.92%).
On the flip side, 29 stocks ended in the red. JULI Plc was the worst performer, shedding 10%, followed by Unilever (-9.97%), May & Baker (-7.69%), Africa Prudential (-4.79%), CAP Plc (-4.05%), and Oando (-1.89%).
Sectoral performance was mixed. The Insurance index jumped 9.12%, while Industrial Goods gained 0.86%. Conversely, Banking (-0.22%), Consumer Goods (-0.47%), and Oil & Gas (-0.19%) closed negative. The commodities sector remained flat at 0%. Overall, the number of deals and total trading volume fell by 22.95% and 39.63%, respectively.
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