The Nigerian equities market closed the week on a strong footing, recording a fresh gain of N948 billion as sustained buying interest lifted major stocks across the board.
Investor appetite remained high for equities such as UAC of Nigeria, BUA Cement, Beta Glass, Legend Internet Plc, and 30 other companies, propelling market capitalisation to N88.372 trillion, a 1.07 per cent increase from Thursday’s close of N87.424 trillion.
The All-Share Index (ASI) advanced by 1,399.53 points, rising one per cent to settle at 141,263.05 from the previous level of 139,863.52.
Despite the bullish close, market breadth leaned slightly negative, with 35 gainers outpaced by 34 losers.
Leading the losers’ chart, Champion Breweries recorded a 10 per cent decline, ending at N12.51. Dangote Sugar also dipped by 10 per cent to close at N66.15 per share.
Oando Plc shed 10 per cent, finishing at N53.10, while Cornerstone Insurance declined by 9.78 per cent to N4.15. Abbey Mortgage Bank fell by 9.76 per cent, closing at N5.27.
On the gainers’ table, UAC of Nigeria posted a 9.96 per cent rise to close at N88.30. BUA Cement followed closely with a 9.63 per cent increase, finishing at N148 per share.
Veritas Kapital climbed 9.45 per cent to N1.39, Beta Glass appreciated by 9.22 per cent to end at N408.50, and Legend Internet rose by 8.84 per cent, closing at N6.40 per share.
Trading volume for the day reached 1.08 billion shares, valued at N26.85 billion, exchanged in 34,488 transactions. This was slightly lower than the previous day’s turnover of 1.11 billion shares worth N33.65 billion across 37,370 deals.
First City Monument Bank led the activity chart with 277.21 million shares traded, valued at N2.84 billion. Fidelity Bank followed with 85.6 million shares worth N1.80 billion, while Sterling Nigeria moved 58.37 million shares valued at N396.75 million.
Universal Insurance recorded a turnover of 44.72 million shares worth N32.77 million, and Veritas Kapital Assurance exchanged 41.54 million shares with a value of N57.18 million.
The market’s sustained upward trend reflects continued investor confidence, fuelled by strategic interest in fundamentally strong stocks and favourable short-term market sentiment.