BANKING equities, led by Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Holding Company, Jaiz Bank and Access Holdings, helped lift the Nigerian Exchange to a positive close on Friday, sustaining investor optimism in the financial sector.

The benchmark All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 0.30 per cent, extending the previous session’s momentum and pushing the year-to-date return to 30.95 per cent. Market capitalisation consequently settled at N131.17 trillion, reflecting renewed buying interest in bellwether stocks.

Analysts at Arthur Stevens Asset Management Limited said the market’s upward movement was largely driven by strong activity in banking and telecom stocks, with MTN Nigeria Communications also featuring prominently among the day’s movers.

Trading data showed that Access Holdings and Zenith Bank dominated both volume and value charts, underlining sustained institutional and retail interest in tier-one banking names. Market participants continued to position in fundamentally strong financial stocks amid expectations of resilient earnings and dividend prospects.

Despite the positive close, market breadth weakened to 0.72 times from 0.90 times in the previous session, indicating a higher number of declining stocks relative to advancers. A total of 23 stocks gained, led by Transnational Express, International Breweries and Chams, while 32 equities recorded losses, with Omatek, Austin Lazy and Wapic Insurance topping the laggards’ chart.

Overall, 548.60 million shares were traded in 48,538 deals, valued at N31.45 billion, compared with 652.86 million shares exchanged in the prior session. A total of 133 equities participated in the day’s trading.

Meanwhile, activity in the commodities market showed Brent crude trading at $96.91 per barrel, while gold stood at $4,764.84 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index closed at 98.68 points.

Market watchers expect banking stocks to remain a key driver of sentiment in the near term, supported by liquidity flows and continued investor appetite for fundamentally sound counters.

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