Nigerian Equity Market Rallies As Index Gains Ground
The Nigerian equities market extended its positive momentum for the second consecutive session on Tuesday as renewed buying interest drove capital appreciation. The benchmark All-Share Index gained 2,524.00 points, representing a growth of 1.06 per cent to close at 240,743.19 points. Similarly, the total market capitalisation of listed equities rose by N1.64tn to settle at N154.48tn. Gains in medium and large-capitalised stocks primarily drove the market upturn. Airtel Africa and Guaranty Trust Holding Company anchored the day’s heavy lifting.
Investor sentiment remained strongly positive as market breadth closed with thirty-three advancing stocks outperforming twenty-three declining counters. Guinea Insurance and telecommunications giant Airtel Africa led the gainers’ chart with a maximum daily price appreciation of 10 per cent each. International Energy Insurance followed closely, gaining 9.89 per cent to close at N6.11 per share. Tripple Gee & Company advanced 9.82 per cent, while Cornerstone Insurance rose 9.76 per cent. This broad participation indicates a sudden revival of confidence among domestic institutional players.
On the losing side, Red Star Express led the laggards by depreciating 9.96 per cent to close at N24.85 per share. Premier Paints followed with a 9.93 per cent decline, while Trans-Nationwide Express dropped 9.82 per cent. Royal Exchange also shed 9.38 per cent of its value, and Abbey Mortgage Bank fell 9.29 per cent. These minor contractions show that profit-taking still lingers in specific corners of the bourse. However, the selling pressure failed to destabilise the overarching bullish sentiment.
Activity levels on the trading floor spiked significantly during the midweek session. The total volume of shares traded surged 15.74 per cent to 564.91 billion units. Investors executed these trades, valued at N39.35bn, in 49,230 distinct deals. Transactions in the shares of Fidelity Bank dominated the volume chart, accounting for 59.37 million shares. Zenith Bank followed as the second most traded stock, exchanging 49.53 million shares worth N5.86bn.
Dangote Sugar Refinery, Chams Holding Company, and Access Holdings completed the top five most active equities. This intense concentration of volume within the banking and consumer goods sectors highlights where local liquid capital currently feels safest. The bourse appears to be recovering from a bruising mid-June period when dividend markdowns wiped billions off equity valuations. Fund managers are clearly rebalancing portfolios to shield capital against persistent macroeconomic pressures. A sustained recovery depends entirely on these institutional blocks holding their ground.