The Nigerian Stock Exchange concluded Thursday’s trading session with robust activity, as investors traded over one billion shares worth more than N31.3 billion, marking a significant uptick in market participation despite a pullback in certain equities, news.ng reports.
Trading data from today’s session showed that 1,025,534,120 shares changed hands across 51,194 deals, representing a market value of N31.3bn.
This performance reflected a 36% surge in volume and a 6% increase in turnover compared to Wednesday’s session, though the number of deals declined by 8%.
Market breadth tilted negative, with 41 stocks closing lower against 36 gainers among the 132 equities that saw trading activity. The exchange’s total market capitalisation stood at NGN 106.3 trillion at the close of trading.
Consumer goods giant Nestlé Nigeria emerged as the session’s standout performer, climbing 10% to close at N2,153.80 per share. Other notable gainers included NCR Nigeria, which rose by 9.97%, while Jaiz Bank and Morison Industries posted gains of 9.92% and 9.9%, respectively.
On the downside, McNichols led the losers’ chart with a 9.99% decline, settling at NGN 6.58 per share. Caverton Offshore Support Group fell by 9.47%, while Ikeja Hotel and FTN Cocoa Processors shed 9.43% and 9.38%, respectively.
Sovereign Trust Insurance dominated trading volumes with 245 million shares traded, representing nearly a quarter of total market activity. Financial services heavyweights Access Holdings and Zenith Bank followed with 78.4 million and 72.4 million shares, respectively, while Jaiz Bank rounded out the top four with 53.7 million shares.
The strong volume figures suggest heightened investor interest in the market, though the decline in deal count may indicate consolidation among larger institutional players rather than broad-based retail participation.
Market analysts will be watching to see whether Friday’s session can sustain the momentum in trading volumes while improving market breadth.
