Nigerian equities market extended its bullish run on Wednesday, as the benchmark index of Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) recorded further gains on the back of renewed investor demand for select banking, industrial and consumer stocks.

Data showed that the All-Share Index (ASI) advanced by 0.27 per cent to close at 145,323.87 basis points, lifting the total market capitalisation by N252 billion to N92.38 trillion.

Market sentiment remained firmly positive, with 30 stocks appreciating against 16 decliners, translating to a strong market breadth.

Leading the gainers’ chart were Guinness Nigeria Plc, NCR Nigeria Plc, NGX Group Plc, Multiverse Mining and Sky Aviation Leasing, reflecting renewed buying interest across diverse sectors of the market.

On the flip side, the worst-performing stocks included Veritas Kapital Assurance, Lasaco Assurance, Prestige Assurance, Royal Exchange and Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, which closed in negative territory amid profit-taking activities.

Sectoral performance was largely supportive of the market’s upward movement.

The banking sector emerged as the top performer with a 0.65 per cent gain, buoyed by renewed interest in tier-one and mid-tier banking stocks.

The industrial goods index followed with a 0.47 per cent rise, while the consumer goods sector advanced by 0.38 per cent. The insurance index also posted a modest gain of 0.27 per cent.

However, the rally was tempered by weakness in the oil and gas sector, which declined by 0.47 per cent, as well as the commodities segment, which shed 0.24 per cent, reflecting cautious trading in energy and agro-related counters.

Trading activity painted a mixed picture. Market turnover surged sharply, as the volume of shares traded jumped by an impressive 271.27 per cent to 2.25 billion units, while the number of deals executed rose by 45.45 per cent to 21,513 transactions.

In contrast, the total value of trades fell by 47.17 per cent to N20.97 billion, suggesting that the spike in activity was driven largely by low- and mid-priced stocks.

Market analysts attributed Wednesday’s performance to sustained bargain-hunting, portfolio rebalancing ahead of the year-end, and improving confidence supported by expectations of stronger corporate earnings and improving macroeconomic signals.

With momentum still tilted to the bulls and market breadth remaining positive, investors are likely to continue positioning in fundamentally sound stocks, even as selective profit-taking persists across overheated counters.

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