Nigeria’s equities market sustained its bullish run on Thursday, as the benchmark All-Share Index (ASI) of the Nigerian Exchange Limited edged up marginally by 0.02 per cent to close at 200,957.89 points, pushing the year-to-date return to 29.14 per cent.

The modest gain added N20.63 billion to investors’ wealth, lifting total market capitalisation to N129 trillion, reinforcing the market’s resilience amid mixed trading signals.

Despite the positive close, market breadth weakened, with decliners outpacing gainers in a 36 to 30 ratio, reflecting underlying selling pressure across key counters. Stocks such as Universal Insurance Plc, SUNU Assurances Nigeria Plc, Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc, FTN Cocoa Processors Plc, and Nigerian Exchange Group Plc led the laggards’ chart, weighing on overall sentiment.

However, gains in select equities helped keep the market in positive territory. Premier Paints Plc recorded a maximum 10 per cent appreciation, while Red Star Express Plc rose by 9.53 per cent and Zenith Bank Plc gained 1.53 per cent. Other notable advancers included Zichee Industries Limited, Legend Internet Plc, John Holt Plc, and McNichols Plc.

Sectoral performance painted a mixed picture, as the Banking and Consumer Goods indices posted gains of 0.26 per cent and 0.18 per cent respectively. In contrast, losses in the Insurance, Industrial, and Oil & Gas sectors moderated the overall market performance, while the Commodity Index closed flat.

Trading activity showed renewed investor participation, with total volume traded rising by 26.05 per cent to 537.99 million shares, while turnover increased by 30.54 per cent to N25.39 billion. However, the number of deals declined by 7.49 per cent to 42,222 transactions, indicating fewer but larger trades.

On the activity chart, Access Holdings Plc emerged as the most traded stock by volume, exchanging 134.59 million shares, while MTN Nigeria Communications Plc dominated the value chart with transactions worth N11.06 billion.

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