Investors on the Nigerian Exchange celebrated a historic day on Monday as the All-Share Index (ASI) surged past the 201,000-point mark for the first time, driving a remarkable N1.97 trillion gain in market capitalization.
The ASI climbed 1.55 percent to close at 201,474.89 points, up from 198,407.30 points in the previous session. Market capitalization rose to N129.329 trillion from N127.360 trillion, reflecting the substantial boost to investors’ portfolios.
Market sentiment was largely bullish, with 38 stocks advancing against 30 decliners. Strong demand across key sectors fueled the momentum, lifting the month-to-date (MTD) return to 4.48 percent and the year-to-date (YTD) return to 29.47 percent.
On the gainers’ list, BUA Cement led with a 10 percent increase, closing at N297 per share. Other top performers included Premier Paints, John Holt, Guinea Insurance, and Fortis Global Insurance.
On the downside, VFD Group recorded the largest decline at 10 percent to N11.25 per share, alongside Royal Exchange, Omatek Ventures, Sovereign Trust Insurance, and Regency Alliance.
Trading activity was robust, with 72,735 deals executed and 948.2 million shares valued at N49.17 billion exchanged. Financial services stocks dominated volume, reflecting investor interest in the sector. Sovereign Trust Insurance recorded the highest traded volume with 72.56 million shares, representing 7.65 percent of total trades, while Zenith Bank posted the highest value at N5.96 billion, accounting for 12.11 percent of turnover.
The record-breaking performance underscores renewed investor confidence in the Nigerian stock market, highlighting both the strength of blue-chip stocks and the growing appeal of the financial services sector.
