The Nigerian equities market closed on a high note on Thursday as investors celebrated a massive ₦1.16 trillion gain in market capitalisation, the largest single-day profit recorded in recent weeks. This bullish run comes just ahead of the Eid-el-Kabir celebrations, signaling renewed investor confidence and positioning for second-half 2025 gains.
According to data from the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), the All-Share Index (ASI) surged by 1.63%, adding 1,835.02 points to settle at 114,616.75 points, up from 112,781.73 on Wednesday. This pushed the market’s capitalisation from ₦71.2tn to ₦72.3tn.
Analysts attributed the rally to strong buying interest in large-cap stocks, with notable gains recorded in Nigerian Exchange Group, MTN Nigeria, Oando, and Champion Breweries. These companies either hit or neared their daily maximum allowable price increases of 10%.
Nigerian Exchange Group led the gainers’ table with a 10% jump to close at ₦39.60 per share. It was closely followed by Champion Breweries (10%), MTN Nigeria (9.99%), Oando (9.96%), and Morison Industries (9.90%).
The rally was also supported by improved market activity. A total of 1.28 billion shares valued at ₦32.47 billion were traded in 16,407 deals, representing a 114% increase in volume, a 104% rise in value, and a 20% jump in transaction count compared to the previous day.
Fidelity Bank led the volume chart with 830 million shares traded, indicating significant investor interest. Other active stocks included Zenith Bank (62.8m shares), Japaul Gold (34.8m shares), and Guaranty Trust Holding Company (30.9m shares).
Despite the strong market sentiment, some stocks experienced losses. Northern Nigeria Flour Mills topped the laggards’ list with a 9.97% decline, closing at ₦125.05 per share.
Out of the 127 equities traded during the session, 40 gained, 22 declined, while 65 remained unchanged, underscoring a strong market breadth in favour of the bulls.
Market watchers say the sustained rally is driven by investor repositioning ahead of the holiday, strong Q1 2025 earnings reports, and general optimism about macroeconomic stability.
This performance has been fueled by increased investor appetite for blue-chip stocks, particularly as investors take advantage of pricing ahead of anticipated fiscal and monetary policy adjustments in the second half of the year.
This latest surge follows another strong outing on Wednesday, when investors gained ₦224bn, pushing the market capitalisation to ₦71.1tn. On that day, the ASI increased by 0.32%, or 354.25 points, building on bullish momentum and marking a one-week gain of 0.79%, four-week gain of 3.61%, and year-to-date growth of 9.58%.
As the Nigerian market enters the second half of the year, the combination of robust earnings, sector rotation, and foreign portfolio interest may continue to drive positive performance, especially in the banking, energy, telecoms, and consumer goods sectors.
With the Eid break ahead, analysts advise investors to watch for potential profit-taking in coming sessions but maintain that the broader outlook remains positive for long-term portfolios.
