Nigeria’s equities market extended its positive momentum on Thursday as investors sustained their bullish posture into July, lifting the benchmark performance indicators higher amid easing profit-taking pressure.
At the close of trading on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), the All-Share Index (ASI) rose further to 120,977.2 points, compared to the previous day’s 120,339.9 points. The equities market capitalisation advanced to ₦76.583 trillion from the preceding day’s ₦76.179 trillion.
Thursday’s session marks a continuation of the uptrend that has seen the stock market appreciate by 17.54 percent year-to-date, underpinned by renewed investor appetite for fundamentally sound stocks across key sectors.
Trading data showed a total turnover of ₦29.307 billion recorded in 24,207 deals, with investors exchanging 933.40 million shares.
Among the day’s top gainers, Berger Paints led the chart after its share price rose from ₦30 to ₦33, representing a 10 percent increase. Academy Press followed with a gain of 51 kobo or 10 percent, moving from ₦5.10 to ₦5.61. Unilever also recorded strong buying interest, adding ₦5.15 or 9.96 percent to close at ₦56.85 per share.
Universal Insurance, Access Holdings, Chams, Japaul Gold, and GTCO emerged as the most actively traded stocks for the day, reflecting sustained retail and institutional interest in high-volume counters.
Market analysts expect sentiment to remain broadly positive in the near term as investors continue to position ahead of half-year earnings reports and seek opportunities in undervalued stocks with solid fundamentals.
Despite occasional bouts of profit-taking, market watchers believe the broader outlook remains stable, supported by improving macroeconomic indicators and recent monetary policy adjustments that favour equities as an attractive asset class for both local and foreign portfolio investors.
With the NGX maintaining steady growth into July, market operators anticipate that ongoing value hunting, strategic sector rotation, and positive corporate disclosures will continue to drive momentum in the coming weeks.
