Bargain-hunting activities resurfaced on the Nigerian equities market, driving a modest rebound as investors cherry-picked fundamentally sound counters across key sectors.
Market capitalization similarly grew by 0.56 percent, gaining N683.62 billion to N122.24 trillion. The benchmark All-Share Index closed higher by 0.6 per cent to settle at 190,427.96 points, supported primarily by gains in Seplat Energy Plc, Zenith Bank Plc and Presco Plc.
The renewed buying interest pushed the Month-to-Date return to 15.2 per cent, while the Year-to-Date return advanced further to 22.4 per cent, underscoring the market’s sustained bullish undertone despite intermittent profit-taking sessions.
However, market breadth painted a slightly bearish picture as sentiment remained negative at 0.8x, with 33 gainers against 42 decliners. On the gainers’ chart, AXA Mansard Insurance Plc and Skyway Aviation Handling Company Plc appreciated by 10.0 per cent each, emerging as the top performers of the session. On the flip side, Deap Capital Management & Trust Plc and Mecure Industries Plc shed 10.0 per cent apiece, topping the losers’ table.
Sectoral performance was broadly positive, with the Oil & Gas index leading the gainers, advancing by 3.9 per cent on the back of renewed interest in upstream players, particularly Seplat Energy Plc. The Banking index followed with a 0.7 per cent gain, buoyed by buying pressure in Zenith Bank Plc and other tier-one lenders. The Consumer Goods and Industrial Goods indices recorded modest upticks of 0.2 per cent and 0.1 per cent, respectively, reflecting selective accumulation in defensive names such as Presco Plc. Conversely, the Insurance index slipped marginally by 0.2 per cent amid profit-taking in some mid-tier counters.
Market activity witnessed a remarkable surge, with total traded volume jumping by 205.7 per cent to 3.67 billion units valued at NGN61.89 billion, executed in 68,693 deals. Trading was largely dominated by FCMB Group Plc, which emerged as the most actively traded stock by both volume and value, exchanging 2.94 billion units worth NGN35.88 billion. The significant spike in turnover reflects strong institutional participation and repositioning across select counters.
Overall, the session reflects cautious optimism among investors, with bargain-hunting sustaining the upward trajectory of the index. Analysts expect trading to remain sentiment-driven in the near term as market participants continue to weigh corporate earnings prospects, macroeconomic signals and portfolio rebalancing strategies.