NGX Market Cap Rises N390bn, GTCO, Zenith, Seplat Gain
The equities market extended its upward momentum on Wednesday, with the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) All-Share Index (ASI) advancing 0.28% to close at 202,584.88 points.
The surge in the benchmark index pushed the year-to-date return to +30.19% and added ₦389.53 billion to market capitalisation, bringing the total to ₦130.4 trillion.
The positive outcome was driven by buying interest in heavyweights SEPLAT (+4.95%), ZENITHBANK (+5.83%) and GTCO (+3.20%), likely aided by news of the Nigerian market’s re-inclusion in the FTSE Russell Frontier Index.
On trading activity, total volume declined by 12.64% to 1.0 billion units traded, with ACCESSCORP recording the highest volume at 233.0 million units, accounting for 23.14% of total volume.
Value traded inched up marginally by 0.71% to N40.6 billion, led by ZENITHBANK, where N6.5 billion in trades exchanged hands, accounting for 15.9% of the total value.
Market breadth was broadly negative at 0.7x, as 31 decliners led by UPDCREIT, FTGINSURE, DEAPCAP, CHAMS, and JAPAULGOLD outpaced 22 advancers, with UNIVINSURE, OMATEK, VFDGROUP, CWG, and LIVESTOCK recording the most notable gains.
Sectoral performance was mixed, as Oil & Gas (+2.11%), Banking (+1.79%), and Commodity (+1.34%) finished in positive territory, while Consumer Goods (-1.07%), Insurance (-0.36%), and Industrial (-0.19%) dragged on the index.
In the next session, the market is expected to sustain its bullish run as investors continue to rebalance their portfolios amid an unstable global economy.
However, overall sentiments remained bearish, with the session’s laggards (31) outpacing gainers (22), resulting in a market breadth of 0.7x. UNIVINSURE (+10.00%) was the top gainer, while FTGINSURE (-9.85%) led the laggards. Zenith Bank Announces N8.75 as Final Dividend for 2025