The Nigerian stock market extended its bullish run on Wednesday, recording a significant gain of N342 billion in market capitalisation due to increased buying interest in several high-performing stocks. Recipe book
The market capitalisation rose by 0.52 per cent to close at N66.159 trillion, up from N65.817 trillion on Tuesday. Similarly, the All-Share Index (ASI) appreciated by 544.06 points or 0.52 per cent to settle at 105,283.67 compared to the previous day’s 104,739.61.
The rally was largely driven by renewed investor appetite for medium and large-cap equities such as Fidelity Bank, Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), and Universal Insurance Plc. Market breadth closed on a positive note, with 34 stocks recording gains against 17 losers.
Among the top gainers, ABC Transport rose by 9.86 per cent to close at N1.56, while VFD Group advanced by 9.62 per cent to end the session at N17.10 per share. Learn Africa gained 9.54 per cent to reach N3.56, Regalins climbed 9.43 per cent to close at 58k, and Africa Prudential added 8.63 per cent to finish at N15.10 per share.
On the flip side, Tripple G led the losers with a 10 per cent drop to N1.98. MRS followed closely, falling by 9.95 per cent to N157.50. ABBEY Mortgage Bank lost 9.94 per cent to settle at N8.79, while John Holt and Austin Laz and Company Plc declined by 9.68 per cent and 9.57 per cent to close at N7.00 and N1.89 respectively.
Trading activity witnessed a notable surge, with a total of 744.80 million shares valued at N18.28 billion exchanged in 11,226 transactions.
This marked a significant increase compared to the 353.28 million shares worth N7.20 billion traded in 13,734 deals on Tuesday.
Fidelity Bank led the activity chart with 388.76 million shares traded, amounting to N7.75 billion in value. GTCO followed with 47 million shares valued at N2.86 billion, while Universal Insurance recorded 41.92 million shares worth N20.97 million.
Access Corporation and Tantalizer also featured prominently, trading 30.55 million and 22.95 million shares valued at N705.58 million and N52.83 million respectively.
Analysts say the upbeat performance reflects growing confidence in the equities market and could attract even more investors in the coming weeks.