The Nigerian equities market ended Friday on a stronger note as renewed demand for large-cap stocks drove the All-Share Index up 0.22% to close at 249,712.37 points.
According to data posted by Bizwatch Nigeria, the gain added ₦344.23 billion to market capitalisation, pushing total value to ₦160.08 trillion and extending the year-to-date return to 60.47%.
Buying interest centered on heavyweight counters, with BUA Cement rising 1.45%, Nigerian Breweries gaining 2.87%, and Stanbic IBTC Holdings advancing 2.65%. The move reflects sustained investor positioning in fundamentally strong banking and industrial names following recent corporate earnings and dividend declarations.
Market breadth closed positive at 1.11x, with 30 stocks advancing against 27 decliners. Aluminium Extrusion Industries and DAAR Communications led gainers with 10% increases each. Trans-Nationwide Express recorded the steepest loss, falling 9.92%.
Trading activity softened despite the positive close. Volume declined 32.76% to 711.86 million shares, while turnover fell 6.08% to ₦28.08 billion across 62,386 deals.
Fidelity Bank dominated the session, accounting for 198.1 million shares valued at ₦4.6 billion, or 27.8% of total volume.
Sector performance was mixed. Industrial goods led with a 0.53% rise, followed by consumer goods at 0.28%, banking at 0.25%, and oil and gas at 0.18%. The insurance index slipped 0.18%, and the commodity sector closed flat.
Analysts say the rally is being supported by Nigeria’s high inflation, currency depreciation, and prolonged high interest rates, which continue to push investors toward equities as a hedge against falling purchasing power.
The Central Bank of Nigeria’s banking recapitalisation plans are also driving positioning in financial stocks expected to benefit from stronger capital buffers.
“Investor sentiment remains broadly positive as market participants continue repositioning portfolios toward fundamentally sound companies with resilient earnings outlooks,” said analysts at Meristem Securities.
