The Nigerian stock market sustained its rally on Thursday, with investors gaining about N138 billion as buying interest remained strong across select equities.
Data from the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) showed that market capitalisation rose by 0.13 per cent to close at N102.822 trillion, marking the 19th consecutive session of gains and reflecting growing investor confidence.
The All-Share Index advanced by 214.80 points, or 0.13 per cent, to settle at 160,806.56, up from 160,591.76 recorded in the previous session.
Stocks such as Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals, May & Baker, eTranzact International, Multiverse Mining, Mecure and 27 others recorded price appreciation, helping to push the market higher.
However, market breadth closed negative, as 41 stocks declined against 32 gainers. International Energy Insurance led the losers, dropping 9.90 per cent to close at N2.73 per share. ABC Transport, Austinlaz, Conoil and Veritas Kapital Assurance also recorded notable losses.
Trading activity weakened during the session, with investors exchanging 645.06 million shares valued at N16.4 billion in 44,410 deals, compared with 1.44 billion shares worth N20.7 billion traded in 49,286 transactions on Wednesday.
Chams topped the volume chart with 60.5 million shares valued at N236.8 million, followed by Linkage Assurance with 54.1 million shares worth N97.6 million. Access Corporation traded 35.5 million shares valued at N815.4 million, while Champion Breweries exchanged 31.3 million shares worth N519.1 million.
Zenith Bank recorded the highest value of trades at N1.51 billion, accounting for 9.15 per cent of the total market value. Meanwhile, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Thursday commended the NGX for surpassing the N100 trillion market capitalisation milestone.
