The Nigerian Stock Exchange, under Nigerian Exchange Group, NGX, Limited, recorded a historic milestone as investors gained N1.806 trillion in a single day.
This development follows a significant rise in the All-Share Index, ASI, which surged by 2,457.13 points, or 2.01 per cent, to close at 124,446.80, crossing the 124,000 mark for the first time, from its previous close of 121,989.67.
The market’s positive performance has been attributed to growing investor confidence in Nigeria’s equities market, bolstered by improved liquidity conditions and ongoing economic reforms.
Market capitalisation similarly rose by 2.35 per cent to settle at N78.726 trillion on Thursday, up from N76.970 trillion recorded on Wednesday.
Consequently, market breadth closed strongly positive, with 70 gainers and only 10 losers.
On the gainers’ table, FTN Cocoa rose by 10 per cent to end the session at N6.82, while UPDC also gained 10 per cent, closing at N4.62 per share.
United Bank for Africa, UBA, soared by 10 per cent to settle at N39.60, while Consolidated Hallmark Holdings similarly rose by 10 per cent to close at N3.30 per share.
Haldane McCall also gained 10 per cent, ending the session at N4.73 per share.
Conversely, Neimeth International Pharmaceutical declined by 9.91 per cent, finishing at N9, while Legend Internet shed 9.88 per cent to settle at N7.21 per share.
Industrial and Medical Gases dropped by 7.36 per cent to close at N34, and Cadbury Nigeria fell by 6.22 per cent, ending the day at N55 per share.
Similarly, Livestock Feeds lost 5.67 per cent, closing at N9.15 per share.
In terms of market activity, 1.3 billion shares valued at N27.73 billion were exchanged across 27,875 transactions.
This compares to 888.70 million shares worth N15.609 billion traded in 24,303 transactions on Wednesday.
Leading the activity chart was Access Corporation, with 174.22 million shares valued at N3.99 billion.
AIICO Insurance followed with 81.96 million shares worth N165 million, while Ja Paul Gold recorded 74.01 million shares traded, valued at N245.2 million.
UBA exchanged 64.51 million shares worth N2.52 billion, and First City Monument Bank traded 63.3 million shares valued at N585.75 million.