The Nigerian equities market sustained its upward march on Thursday, as gains in energy and commodity stocks lifted key performance indicators despite a notable slowdown in trading activity.

At the close of trading, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 0.25 per cent to settle at 178,625.63 points, reinforcing the market’s bullish tone for the week. Market capitalisation mirrored the advance, appreciating by N283.24 billion to close at N114.66 trillion, reflecting renewed investor appetite for select large- and mid-cap stocks.

Market breadth remained positive with 45 advancing stocks outpacing 35 decliners, an indication that buying interest was moderately broad-based across counters.

Energy heavyweight SEPLAT Energy Plc led the gainers’ chart, buoyed by strong demand in the Oil & Gas space. It was followed by Deap Capital Management & Trust Plc, R T Briscoe Plc, Zico Holdings Plc, and Daar Communications Plc, all of which recorded significant price appreciation amid renewed speculative and strategic positioning.

On the flip side, Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc (NAHCO) topped the losers’ table, pressured by profit-taking. Abbey Mortgage Bank Plc, Eterna Plc, May & Baker Nigeria Plc, and Ecobank Transnational Incorporated also recorded notable declines as investors trimmed positions in select counters.

Sectoral performance painted a mixed picture. The Oil & Gas Index emerged as the clear outperformer, surging 4.64 per cent on the back of strong buying interest in upstream and downstream players.

The Commodity Index followed with a 3.14 per cent gain, reflecting sustained interest in agro-allied and resource-based stocks.

However, the Insurance Index led sectoral decliners with a 1.47 per cent drop, weighed down by sell-offs in key counters. The Industrial Goods Index slipped 1.09 per cent, while the Banking Index edged lower by 0.13 per cent. The Consumer Goods Index also recorded a marginal decline of 0.04 per cent, suggesting cautious positioning in defensive names.

Despite the positive price movement, trading activity weakened significantly. Total share volume declined by 25.64 per cent to 698.34 million units, compared with the previous session.

The value of transactions also fell by 16.44 per cent to N28.44 billion, while the number of deals dropped 16.96 per cent to 50,886 transactions.

Analysts say the divergence between rising prices and declining volumes suggests selective accumulation rather than broad market participation. Investors appear to be rotating funds into high-impact sectors such as Oil & Gas, while adopting a cautious stance in banking, insurance and consumer-facing stocks.

With the benchmark index holding firmly above the 178,000-point psychological threshold and market capitalisation edging closer to N115 trillion, attention now turns to whether momentum in energy and commodity stocks can sustain the rally amid thinning volumes and ongoing profit-taking in lagging sectors.

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