Investors gained about N648 billion on Thursday as the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) recorded a rebound after two consecutive days of decline.
Market capitalisation rose from N125.750 trillion to N126.398 trillion, reflecting a 0.52 per cent increase driven by renewed investor interest in key equities.
Also, the NGX All-Share Index advanced by 1,010.22 points, or 0.52 per cent, climbing from 195,898.54 to close at 196,908.76.
Market analysts attributed the positive performance to increased demand for stocks including FTN Cocoa Processors Plc, Fidson Healthcare Plc, Deap Capital Management & Trust Plc, Caverton Offshore Support Group Plc and Livestock Feeds Plc.
Following the rally, the market’s year-to-date return improved to 26.54 per cent, while trading breadth closed evenly with 30 gainers and 30 losers.
Among the gainers, FTN Cocoa Processors led with a 10 per cent rise to close at N6.27 per share, while Fidson Healthcare increased by 9.97 per cent to N105.35.
Deap Capital Management also gained 9.89 per cent to close at N7 per share, while Caverton Offshore Support Group and Livestock Feeds recorded gains of 9.40 per cent and 9.30 per cent respectively.
On the losing side, Eterna Plc and Omatek Ventures Plc each dropped by 10 per cent to close at N42.30 and N2.52 per share.
Other decliners included SCOA Nigeria Plc, which fell by 9.94 per cent to N22.65, Fortis Global Insurance Plc, down 9.24 per cent to N1.08, and Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, which shed 9.09 per cent to close at N2.10.
Despite the market rebound, trading activity declined as total volume traded dropped by 18.01 per cent to 549.78 million shares valued at N44.74 billion across 55,465 deals.
Fortis Global Insurance recorded the highest trading volume with 32.18 million shares, while Dangote Cement Plc posted the highest value traded at N20.67 billion.