The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) saw its market capitalization soar past N74 trillion on Thursday, driven by increased investor interest in MTN Nigeria Communications Plc and 42 other stocks.
MTN Nigeria led the charge with a 1.69% gain, closing at N355.90 per share. This uptick helped boost the NGX’s overall market capitalization by N677.7 billion, closing at N74.259 trillion—up from N73.681 trillion at the start of the trading session.
Similarly, the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 1,074.26 points, or 0.92%, to finish at 117,861.13 basis points. Month-to-date and year-to-date returns also improved, standing at +5.5% and +14.5%, respectively.
Sector Performance
The market posted broad-based gains across key sectors:
NGX Banking Index: +2.9%
NGX Insurance Index: +1.5%
NGX Consumer Goods Index: +1.0%
NGX Oil & Gas Index: +0.2%
NGX Industrial Goods Index: +0.2%
Gainers and Losers
Market breadth remained strong with 43 stocks gaining against 20 losers.
Top gainers included:
Ikeja Hotel: +10%, closing at N15.40
Beta Glass: +9.98%, closing at N276.00
Legend Internet: +9.92%, closing at N7.20
University Press: +9.85%, closing at N6.02
Eterna: +9.82%, closing at N42.50
On the losing end:
Guinea Insurance: -9.21%, closing at 69 kobo
Haldane McCall: -5.88%, closing at N4.00
C&I Leasing: -5.84%, closing at N4.35
McNichols: -5.58%, closing at N2.20
Fidson Healthcare: -4.65%, closing at N41.00
Trading Volume
Total trading volume rose by 39.66%, with 893.97 million shares exchanged in 17,257 deals, valued at N22.03 billion.
The most actively traded stocks were:
Champion Breweries: 332.30 million shares worth N2.27 billion
GTCO: 62.66 million shares valued at N5.00 billion
PZ Cussons Nigeria: 46.59 million shares valued at N1.48 billion
Zenith Bank: 37.55 million shares worth N1.89 billion
Access Holdings: 35.99 million shares valued at N787.11 million
Market Outlook
Afrinvest Limited expressed optimism for continued market momentum, citing improved investor sentiment fueled by Deposit Money Banks’ (DMBs) response to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s guidance on the reversal of forbearance measures and tight supply in the fixed-income space.
