Shares on the Nigerian Exchange rebounded sharply on Thursday, with investors adding N73 billion in value after the market suffered heavy losses the previous day. Trading data from Nigerian Exchange Limited showed market capitalisation climbed from N159.660 trillion to N159.733 trillion, an increase of N73 billion (about 0.05%). The All-Share Index also edged higher, moving from 249,062.37 to 249,175.39—up 113.02 points, or roughly 0.05%—and lifting the year-to-date return to 60.13%.
Despite the gain in overall indices, market breadth ended in negative territory. There were 44 declining stocks against 19 advancing companies. Among the top performers, International Energy Insurance led with a 10% rise to close at N3.41. ABC Transport gained 9.93% to finish at N9.08, while Unilever Nigeria advanced 9.80% and closed at N168 per share. On the decliners’ side, Berger Paints recorded the steepest drop, falling 10% to end at N147.60. Learn Africa slid 9.96% to N11.75, and Daar Communications lost 9.95%, settling at N1.90 per share.
Turnover and which stocks drove trading
Trading activity strengthened during the session. Total volume increased by 76.39% to 1.06 billion shares, worth N30.97 billion, executed across 62,448 deals. Sterling Nigeria topped the volume chart with 322.68 million shares, representing 30.48% of the day’s total traded shares. In terms of transaction value, Aradel led with deals totalling N5.06 billion, accounting for 16.35% of the overall value traded.
The session’s recovery was supported by renewed demand in selected large- and mid-cap names, including International Energy Insurance, ABC Transport, Unilever Nigeria, Academy Press, and 14 additional equities. This buying helped pull the market back into positive territory following the previous day’s sell-off.
Context from Wednesday’s sell-off
Investors had recorded a much larger decline on Wednesday, losing N1.62 trillion after the Central Bank of Nigeria kept the interest rate unchanged at 26.50%. Thursday’s modest index gains and higher turnover reflected a partial rebound, even as the number of falling stocks outpaced advancers.
