Nigeria’s stock market gained N104bn in market value as renewed buying interest lifted equities on the Nigerian Exchange Limited by 0.06 per cent, despite a decline in trading volume and the number of deals.
The market capitalisation rose to N160.81tn, while the NGX All-Share Index increased to 247,673.65 points, pushing its year-to-date return to 59.16 per cent.
The rebound followed a decline in the previous trading session, with market breadth turning positive as 31 stocks advanced against 17 decliners.
Austin Laz and Company led the gainers, rising by 10 per cent to close at N2.42 per share.
eTranzact International followed with a 9.76 per cent gain to N15.75, while Livestock Feeds appreciated by 9.71 per cent to N16.95 per share.
Critical Minerals Financing Corporation gained 9.60 per cent to close at N3.54, while Fortis Global Insurance rose by 9.38 per cent to N1.75 per share.
However, UPDC led the losers, shedding 6.02 per cent to close at N3.90 per share.
Regency Alliance Insurance fell by 4.88 per cent to 78 kobo, while Veritas Kapital Assurance declined by 3.57 per cent to N1.08 per share.
R.T. Briscoe lost 3.14 per cent to close at N9.25, while Chams Holding Company dropped by 2.78 per cent to N3.50 per share.
Despite the market’s positive performance, trading activity weakened in volume and deal count.
Total traded volume fell by 20.1 per cent to 314.91 million units from 394.20 million units recorded in the previous session.
The number of transactions also declined by 20 per cent to 30,956 from 38,707 deals.
However, transaction value rose by 33.7 per cent to N28.59bn from N21.38bn, indicating higher value traded despite fewer transactions and lower volume.
Commenting on the outlook, Imperial Asset Managers Limited said the stronger advance-decline ratio was encouraging but warned that sustained gains would require broader support from heavyweight stocks.
“Looking ahead, the stronger advance/decline ratio is constructive, but sustained upside will require broader heavyweight support and a recovery in ordinary market turnover beyond isolated large trades,” the firm said.
The warning highlights concerns that the latest rebound may not be sustained unless more major stocks contribute to the rally and overall trading activity improves.
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