The Nigerian equities market extended its bullish run midweek, with total market capitalization gaining N389 billion on sustained buying interest in banking and selected oil & gas stocks.
The All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 562.44 points, a 0.28% increase, closing at 202,585.54 points, while market capitalization reached N130.404 trillion.
Top performers driving the market included Seplat Energy, Nigerian Exchange Group, Zenith Bank, GTCO, and Stanbic IBTC Holdings, reflecting strong investor confidence in large- and mid-cap stocks.
Market breadth: Despite gains in select stocks, 31 counters declined against 22 gainers. Universal Insurance recorded the highest price increase, rising 10% to N1.21 per share, followed by Omatek Ventures (+9.78%) and VFD Group (+9.71%).
On the downside, Fortis Global Insurance led losses with a 9.92% decline to N1.18, followed by DEAP Capital (-9.85%) and Chams Holding (-9.47%).
Trading activity: The total volume of trade fell 12.64% to 1.007 billion shares, valued at N40.567 billion across 52,723 deals. Access Holdings dominated activity with 232.98 million shares worth N6.06 billion, followed by Fidelity Bank and Wema Bank.
Market outlook: Analysts at Futureview Group noted that the positive bias may continue as investors focus on fundamentally strong stocks, though intermittent profit-taking could limit further gains.
