Stocks Surge To Historic Milestone As Bull Run Extends Gains

The Nigerian stock market reached a historic milestone on Wednesday, with the AllShare Index (ASI) surging 1.19 per cent to an unprecedented 107,847.62 points, up from the previous session’s 106,574.98 points.

This latest rally elevated the year-to-date (YTD) return to 4.78 per cent from 3.54 per cent, signaling sustained bullish momentum in the equities market. Market capitalisation soared in tandem, adding N794.2 billion to close at N67.29 trillion.

Investor sentiment remained overwhelmingly positive, with market breadth reflecting a robust 3.06-to-1 ratio as 51 stocks advanced against 16 decliners.

Leading the charge were bellwether stocks including ACCESSCORP, OANDO, ZENITHBANK, UBA, and NSLTECH, which collectively drove the day’s upward trajectory.

The rally marked the second consecutive session of significant gains, following Tuesday’s 0.65 per cent uptick in the ASI to 106,574.98 points.

The previous session also saw market capitalization appreciate by N426.38 billion (0.65%) to N66.5 trillion, reinforcing investor confidence in Nigerian equities.

Leading Wednesday’s gainers were IKEJAHOTEL, VFDGROUP, HONYFLOUR, TRANSCOHOT, and ETERNA, all of which posted near-maximum gains, with increases of 10.00 per cent, 10.00 per cent, 9.99 per cent, 9.99 per cent, and 9.93 per cent, respectively.

Conversely, CWG (-9.0%), REGALINS (-7.9%), LASACO (-7.3%), ROYALEX (-6.8%), and SCOA (-6.2%) topped the list of decliners.

Sectoral performance remained largely upbeat, with the Industrial Goods index climbing 2.11 per cent, Consumer Goods advancing 1.44 per cent, Banking up 0.49 per cent, Oil & Gas gaining 0.20 per cent, and the Commodities sector appreciating 1.38 per cent.

The Insurance index was the sole laggard, slipping marginally by 0.04 per cent. Despite the bullish close, trading activity slowed as total transaction volume declined 7.52 per cent to 442.62 million units, with trade value dropping 15.38 per cent to N9.95 billion across 15,376 deals.

STERLINGNG emerged as the most traded stock by volume, with 49.61 million shares exchanged, while ZENITHBANK led by value at N1.31 billion.