The Nigerian equities market began the week on a positive note as gains in select mid-capitalisation stocks lifted the benchmark index despite profit-taking in major banking names.

At the close of trading on Monday, the NGX All-Share Index advanced by 0.12 per cent to settle at 197,196.98 points. This pushed the year-to-date return higher to 26.72 per cent from 26.59 per cent recorded in the previous trading session.

Market capitalisation on the Nigerian Exchange Limited also rose by N146.87 billion to close at N126.58 trillion, reflecting sustained investor interest in the equities market.

Despite the overall market gain, investor sentiment remained cautious as market breadth closed negative at 0.62x, indicating that declining stocks outnumbered advancers.

The modest gain was largely driven by strong buying pressure in select mid-tier stocks. Shares of Oando Plc climbed 9.96 per cent, while NGX Group Plc surged 9.97 per cent. Similarly, International Breweries Plc appreciated by 8.09 per cent and Jaiz Bank Plc gained 4.17 per cent.

However, the upward momentum was partly moderated by selloffs in several banking stocks. First HoldCo Plc declined by 3.85 per cent, Access Holdings Plc shed 3.66 per cent, while Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc dipped 0.84 per cent. In the same vein, United Bank for Africa Plc fell by 1.26 per cent, and Wema Bank Plc slipped 0.92 per cent.

Trading activity improved compared with the previous session. Total volume traded rose by 30.09 per cent, while the value of transactions increased by 1.92 per cent.

Access Holdings Plc recorded the highest trading volume with 48.27 million shares exchanged, while Aradel Holdings Plc led the value chart with trades worth N5.07 billion.

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