The Nigerian Exchange Limited, NGX, rebounded, ending an 11-day losing streak as renewed buying interest in banking, insurance and consumer goods stocks pushed investors’ wealth higher by N306 billion.
The positive session was also supported by the confirmation from FTSE Russell that Nigeria will be reclassified to Frontier Market status, effective September 21, 2026.
At the close of trading, the NGX market capitalization increased by 0.20 per cent, or N306 billion, to N154.442 trillion, compared with N154.136 trillion recorded on Wednesday.
Similarly, the All-Share Index, ASI, gained 473.17 points, representing a 0.20 per cent increase, to close at 239,156.09, up from 238,682.92 recorded in the previous session. With Thursday’s gain, the market’s year-to-date return improved to 53.69 per cent.
Despite the overall positive performance, market breadth remained negative, with 39 stocks recording losses compared with 20 gainers. Fidson led the decliners, falling 9.98 per cent to close at N75.80 per share.
Learn Africa and International Energy Insurance followed, each declining by 9.84 per cent to close at N8.70 and N2.84 respectively.
Daar Communications dropped 8.61 per cent to N1.38, while Legend Internet declined 8.43 per cent to N3.80 per share.
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On the gainers’ side, Omatek Ventures led the market after rising 9.60 per cent to close at N1.37 per share. Cornerstone Insurance gained 9.18 per cent to finish at N5.35, while AXA Mansard Insurance appreciated by 9.09 per cent to N12 per share.
Abbey Mortgage Bank rose 6.25 per cent to close at N8.50, while First Holdco gained 4.65 per cent to N135 per share.
Although the market recovered, overall trading activity declined during the session. Total volume fell by 31.83 per cent to 499.96 million shares, with transactions executed in 40,323 deals. The total value of trades stood at N35.15 billion.
Zenith Bank emerged as the most actively traded stock by both volume and value. The bank recorded 69.95 million shares worth N8.20 billion in transactions.
Its activity accounted for 13.99 per cent of total market volume and 23.33 per cent of total market value traded during the session.
The NGX’s recovery provides some relief to investors following the market’s prolonged 11-session decline, although the negative market breadth indicates that selling pressure remained across a significant number of listed stocks.
NAN
