Investors on the Nigerian Exchange Limited recorded a gain of N390 billion at the close of trading on Wednesday, as bullish sentiment dominated the market.
The positive performance was largely driven by the release of full-year 2025 financial results by listed companies, which boosted investor confidence.
Market sentiment was further strengthened by FTSE Russell’s latest Equity Country Classification Interim Review, which confirmed Nigeria’s return to Frontier Market status from its previous “Unclassified” position.
The reclassification, set to take effect in September, is expected to attract increased inflows from global tracker funds and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) tracking the FTSE Frontier Index.
At the close of trading, market capitalization rose from N130.014 trillion to N130.404 trillion, representing a gain of N390 billion or 0.28 percent.
Similarly, the All-Share Index advanced by 562.44 points, or 0.28 percent to close at 202,585.54, up from 202,023.10 recorded on Tuesday. Consequently, the Year-to-Date (YTD) return improved to 30.19 percent.
Despite the overall positive outlook, market breadth closed negative, with 32 losers compared to 22 gainers.
On the losers’ table, UPDCredit declined by 10 per cent to close at N6.75, while Fortis Global Insurance fell by 9.92 per cent to N1.18. Deep Capital Management dropped by 9.85 percent to N5.40 per share.
Also, CHAMS shed 9.47 per cent to close at N3.06, while JaPaul Gold lost 8.82 per cent to settle at N3.10 per share.
Conversely, Universal Insurance topped the gainers’ chart with a 10 percent increase, closing at N1.21. Omatek Ventures rose by 9.78 per cent to N2.47, while VFD Group gained 9.71 per cent to close at N11.30 per share.
In the same vein, Computer Warehouse Group appreciated by 9.64 percent to N21.05, and Livestock Feeds climbed 9.56 percent to close at N7.45 per share.
Meanwhile, trading activity declined, as total volume traded dropped by 12.64 per cent to 1.01 billion shares, valued at N40.57 billion across 52,723 deals.
Access Corporation led the activity chart by volume with 232.98 million shares, accounting for 23.14 per cent of total trades, while Zenith Bank emerged as the most traded stock by value at N6.47 billion, representing 15.94 per cent of the day’s turnover.
