The Nigerian equities market sustained its bullish momentum on Thursday, delivering a fresh massive gains of N1.663 trillion to investors as market capitalization surged beyond the N136 trillion mark.
At the close of trading, total market value rose by 1.23 percent to N136.435 trillion, up from N134.772 trillion recorded at the start of the session.
In the same vein, the All-Share Index (ASI) advanced by 2,583.61 points, representing a 1.23 percent increase, to settle at 211,901.02, compared to 209,317.41 in the previous trading day.
The market’s Year-To-Date (YTD) return strengthened further to 36.17 percent, while sentiment remained positive as 45 stocks posted gains against 20 decliners.
Leading the gainers’ table were Trans-Nationwide Express and Guinea Insurance, both appreciating by 10 per cent to close at N5.50 and N1.21 per share, respectively. Aradel rose by 9.99 percent to N1,547.50; Ecobank Transnational gained 9.97 percent to close at N61.20, while Daar Communications climbed 9.93 percent to N1.66 per share.
On the losers’ side, Ikeja Hotel topped the chart with a 9.73 per cent decline to N33.40. WAPIC followed with an 8.77 per cent drop to N2.60, while CAP shed 8.61 per cent to close at N95 per share. International Energy Insurance and McNichols also recorded losses of 8.18 per cent and 5.82 per cent, respectively.
Trading activity, however, slowed during the session. Total volume traded declined by 17.19 percent to 584.96 million shares valued at N34.76 billion across 45,559 deals.
Zenith Bank emerged as the most actively traded stock, accounting for 61.74 million shares worth N7.60 billion, representing 10.55 per cent and 21.86 per cent of total volume and value, respectively.
The latest performance extends the market’s winning streak to four consecutive sessions, following a strong N2.28 trillion gain recorded on Wednesday.
