The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) closed Wednesday’s session on a bullish note, driven by strong buying interest in insurance and oil and gas stocks. This broad-based rally added a significant N1.18 trillion to the market capitalization the largest single-day gain so far this week.
At the end of trading, the All-Share Index (ASI) surged by 2,246.00 points, or 1.95%, to settle at 117,156.16 basis points. Meanwhile, market capitalization jumped from N72.5 trillion to N73.7 trillion.
Key drivers of the rally included heavyweight gainers such as NEM Insurance, Seplat Energy, Thomas Wyatt Nigeria, and Linkage Assurance, with particularly strong performances from the insurance and oil and gas sectors.
According to data from NGX:
NEM Insurance led the gainers’ chart with a 10% increase, closing at N16.50 per share.
Seplat Energy followed closely, rising 9.78% to N5,450.00 per share.
Thomas Wyatt Nigeria gained 9.73%, and Linkage Assurance rose 9.56%.
Sector Performance:
The Oil & Gas Index recorded the biggest sectoral gain at 7.49%.
The Premium Index rose 3.52%, followed by the Banking Index at 3.25%, and the Insurance Index at 2.02%.
Out of 130 equities traded, 37 stocks advanced while 31 declined, reflecting strong investor sentiment.
On the downside, Eterna Plc led the losers, falling 10% to N38.70 per share. Other major decliners included Secure Electronic Technology (-9.68%), Legend Internet (-9.66%), and FTN Cocoa Processors (-6.07%).
Top Traded Stocks by Volume:
Zenith Bank led with 150 million shares exchanged.
Access Holdings followed with 48.6 million, UBA with 43 million, and Nigerian Breweries with 37.7 million shares.
While total trading volume declined by 19% from the previous session, market turnover rose by 1% to N26.01bn. The total number of deals fell 15% to 19,727.
Market Performance Snapshot:
1-week gain: 2.75%
4-week gain: 6.79%
Year-to-date return: 13.83%
These figures underscore the market’s resilience despite prevailing macroeconomic challenges.
Looking ahead, analysts at Afrinvest forecast another positive session on Thursday, citing improving investor confidence and renewed interest in bargain stocks.
“Investor sentiment has picked up significantly, and we expect this optimism to drive buying activities across major sectors,” the firm noted.
This rebound follows a N183bn loss on Tuesday, when bearish sentiment dragged several blue-chip stocks into negative territory, as earlier reported by The PUNCH.
