The Nigerian equities market sustained its bullish trend on Thursday, with investors pushing the market value up by N283 billion amid strong interest in select high-performing stocks.
The market capitalisation rose from N114.377 trillion at the start of trading to N114.660 trillion at close, representing a 0.25 per cent gain.
Similarly, the All-Share Index (ASI) climbed 441.27 points to end the session at 178,625.63, compared to Wednesday’s 178,184.36, lifting the Year-to-Date (YTD) return to 14.79 per cent.
Market activity was driven by a mix of blue-chip and mid-cap stocks, including Seplat Energy, RT Briscoe, Deap Capital Management, Zichis Agro Allied Industries, and Daar Communications, among 41 others.
Seplat Energy, RT Briscoe, and Deap Capital Management topped the gainers chart, surging 10 per cent to close at N8,107, N15.84, and N8.69 per share respectively.
Zichis Agro Allied Industries rose by 9.97 per cent to N9.82, while Daar Communications gained 9.96 per cent to finish at N2.76 per share.
On the downside, Nigerian Aviation Handling Company recorded the steepest loss, declining 9.98 per cent to N148.45.
Abbey Mortgage Bank fell 9.68 per cent to N11.20, Eterna shed 9.50 per cent to N30, May & Baker lost 9.19 per cent to N40.50, and Ecobank Transnational Incorporated dipped 8.72 per cent to N45 per share.
Despite the positive index movement, trading volumes showed a dip.
Investors exchanged 698.3 million shares valued at N28.4 billion across 50,886 deals, compared with 939.2 million shares worth N34.03 billion traded in 61,279 transactions on Wednesday.
Among individual stocks, Access Corporation recorded the highest traded volume with 52.05 million shares, representing 7.45 per cent of the day’s total.
Meanwhile, Guaranty Trust Holding accounted for the largest value traded, recording N4.34 billion, equivalent to 15.25 per cent of the total market value.
The market’s mixed performance reflects a combination of investor optimism in high-performing equities and cautious trading in other sectors, analysts said, as market participants weigh sectoral gains against broader economic indicators.
