The Nigerian equities market ended Thursday’s trading session on a positive note, as a late surge in banking stocks pushed the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) higher. The All-Share Index rose by 0.28%, gaining 576.27 points to close at 203,161.81, while market capitalisation increased by about N370bn to settle at N130.774tn, reflecting renewed investor activity in key financial and industrial stocks.
Market performance was largely supported by price gains in heavyweight counters such as Nestle Nigeria, Aradel Holdings, Nigerian Exchange Group, Zenith Bank, and Lafarge Africa. These gains helped offset a balanced market breadth that recorded an equal number of advancing and declining stocks.
On the gainers’ chart, Trans-Nationwide Express led with a 9.94% increase, followed closely by International Energy Insurance at 9.84%. Insurance stocks also featured strongly, with Guinea Insurance, Regency Alliance Insurance, and Wapic Insurance posting gains above 9%, reflecting broad-based interest in the sector despite overall market caution.
However, the session also saw notable losses, with LivingTrust Mortgage Bank leading decliners after shedding 10%. Other laggards included R.T. Briscoe, Tantalizers, Livestock Feeds, and VFD Group, highlighting ongoing profit-taking pressure in select low- and mid-cap stocks even as blue chips supported the index.
Trading activity slowed significantly, with volume dropping by 35.17% to 652.86 million units worth N39.82bn across 51,101 deals. Banking stocks remained dominant in activity, led by Access Holdings, Guaranty Trust Holding Company, and United Bank for Africa, as analysts expect mild profit-taking in the next session amid end-of-week adjustments.
source: punch