The market capitalisation of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) climbed to N140.44 trillion on Monday, April 20, as equities extended gains amid renewed investor positioning ahead of dividend season.
The benchmark All-Share Index (ASI) advanced by 0.44 percent to close at 218,113.84 points, up from 217,167.57 recorded in the previous session, lifting the year-to-date return to a robust 40.16 percent. The rally added approximately N606.26 billion to investors’ wealth in a single trading day.
Market breadth closed positive at 1.1x, with 36 gainers slightly outpacing 34 losers, underscoring sustained buying interest across key sectors.
Sectoral performance was broadly upbeat, led by the banking index which surged 2.56 percent, followed by oil and gas (+0.75 percent), consumer goods (+0.38 percent), industrial goods (+0.35 percent), and insurance (+0.004 percent). The commodity sector, however, bucked the trend with a marginal 0.41 percent decline.
Top gainers included NAHCO, which rose by N22 to close at N242 per share, while Fidelity Bank gained N2 to settle at N22.05. Access Holdings also advanced by N2.95 to close at N32.85, reflecting strong investor appetite for banking stocks.
Other notable advancers were Union Dicon and Transcorp Express, both posting moderate gains during the session.
On the losers’ chart, Stanbic IBTC Holdings shed N18.85 to close at N169.70, while Transcorp Power declined by N30.20 to N272.70. Guinea Insurance and Abbey Mortgage Bank also recorded price declines.
Trading activity presented a mixed picture, as total volume and value traded declined by 21.79 percent and 6.59 percent to 983.95 million shares and N50.77 billion respectively. However, deal count surged by 34.23 percent to 76,410 transactions, suggesting increased market participation despite lower turnover.
In terms of activity, Zenith Bank led in value terms with N7 billion worth of shares traded, followed by First Holdings at N4.77 billion. Access Holdings, United Bank for Africa, and Lasaco Assurance also featured prominently on the activity chart.
Analysts expect the bullish sentiment to persist in the near term, driven by portfolio rebalancing and positioning ahead of anticipated full-year dividend announcements, which typically spur accumulation in fundamentally strong counters.
