The Nigerian equities market closed in positive territory on Thursday, with investors pocketing a gain of N239bn in market capitalisation, reversing earlier losses from a sluggish start to the week.
The bounce-back came after a shortened four-day trading week due to the Easter holidays.
Figures from the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) revealed that the market capitalisation climbed to N65.5tn from N65.26tn the previous day. Likewise, the All-Share Index rose by 390.52 points or 0.38 per cent to settle at 104,242.40.
The uptick was driven by renewed investor interest in select banking and consumer goods stocks. Notable gainers included Abbey Mortgage Bank, Nigerian Breweries, Livestock Feeds, and Ecobank Transnational Incorporated.
Abbey Mortgage Bank led the gainers’ chart with a 9.94 per cent jump to close at N8.96 per share. Nigerian Breweries followed closely, appreciating by 9.86 per cent to close at N36.20. Associated Bus Company and Livestock Feeds also posted gains of 9.23 per cent and 9.2 per cent respectively.
However, the session was not entirely bullish. Sunu Assurances Nigeria topped the losers’ list with a 9.91 per cent drop to N5.00 per share. Ellah Lakes fell by 9.76 per cent, Cornerstone Insurance lost 9.44 per cent, and Sovereign Trust Insurance declined by 9.18 per cent.
In terms of market activity, Universal Insurance dominated the volume chart with 89.3 million shares traded, followed by Fidelity Bank with 49.5 million, Access Holdings with 32.9 million, and Zenith Bank with 15.6 million shares.
While trading volume improved, market value declined. A total of 376.29 million shares worth N7.91bn were exchanged in 11,204 deals—representing a 7 per cent increase in volume, but a 42 per cent fall in turnover and an 8 per cent decline in the number of deals compared to the previous session.
Sectoral indices posted positive performances across the board. The Banking Index rose by 1.33 per cent, the Consumer Goods Index by 1.24 per cent, the Pension Index by 0.85 per cent, and the Oil & Gas Index by 0.44 per cent.
Despite Thursday’s rally, the market closed the week with a 0.52 per cent loss and a four-week slide of 1.08 per cent. Still, year-to-date returns remained in the green at 1.28 per cent, signaling resilience among investors amid cautious sentiment.
Analysts attributed the rebound to bargain hunting in fundamentally strong stocks, as investors position ahead of Q2 earnings reports and corporate actions.
