Nigerian Exchange gains N254bn as banking and insurance stocks drive market rally, lifting All-Share Index by 0.29%
Nigerian Exchange gains N254bn in market capitalisation on Tuesday as investors continued their bullish momentum, primarily fueled by strong interest in banking and insurance stocks.
At the close of trading, the market capitalisation rose to ₦88.5 trillion from ₦88.25 trillion, while the All-Share Index (ASI) added 401.36 points (0.29%) to close at 139,796.11.
The rally was driven by demand in low- and medium-capitalised equities, particularly in the insurance and banking sectors, with stocks such as Regency Alliance Insurance (+10%), MeCure Industries (+9.92%), and E-Tranzact International (+9.73%) leading the gainers’ chart.
Also notable were Daar Communications (+9.57%) and Deap Capital (+9.52%).
On the flip side, Unilever Nigeria suffered the steepest loss of the day, declining by 9.79% to close at ₦63.15 per share.
Other laggards included FTN Cocoa Processors (−9.40%), Ellah Lakes (−8.76%), and Berger Paints (−6.33%).
Despite the gains, market analysts continue to flag cautious sentiment, pointing to a 30% decline in trading volume, turnover, and number of deals compared to Monday.
Trading was largely dominated by financial services stocks. Key players included:
- FCMB Group: 202.49 million shares, ₦2.09bn
- Universal Insurance: 63.14 million shares, ₦79.39m
- First HoldCo: 44.23 million shares, ₦1.34bn
- Regency Alliance Insurance: 30.98 million shares
- AccessCorp: 26.12 million shares
In value terms, GTCO led with ₦1.50bn, followed by First HoldCo, MTNN, and AccessCorp.
All major indices closed in the green:
- NGX Top 30 Index: +0.32%
- NGX Insurance Index: +0.98%
- NGX Industrial Index: +0.85%
- NGX Banking Index: +0.43%
- NGX Premium Index: +0.47%
- NGX Consumer Goods Index: +0.28%
On a weekly scale, the market shows a marginal gain of 0.05%, but a four-week loss of 4.17% persists.
Year-to-date, however, the NGX ASI is up 35.82%, indicating sustained investor confidence.
According to analysts, the ongoing interest in financial stocks—especially insurance—remains a powerful driver, though short-term caution is expected due to declining volume and global macroeconomic pressures.
