The Nigerian Exchange Limited sustained its upward trajectory on Tuesday, as renewed buying interest in telecom heavyweights and select financial stocks lifted the headline market indices by 0.53 per cent.
Driven by intensive position-taking, the benchmark all-share index advanced significantly to close the day at exactly 244,697.62 points. Concurrently, the total value of listed equities expanded by N830bn to settle at an impressive equities market capitalisation of N156.94tn.
Market analysts attributed the bullish momentum to portfolio rebalancing by institutional investors seeking out resilient defensive counters amid broader macroeconomic adjustments.
While the fixed income market capitalisation experienced a marginal contraction of 0.06 per cent to close at N56.74tn, investors showed strong enthusiasm in alternative windows. This was particularly evident in the Exchange Traded Products market capitalisation, which by 4.40 per cent to settle the trading day at N103.00bn.
A granular look at the day’s performance showed a highly competitive gainers’ log dominated by the telecommunications and financial sectors, as visualised in the official daily snapshot.
Leading the premium leaderboard was telecom giant Airtel Africa Plc, which hit the maximum daily regulatory ceiling with a 10.00 per cent increase to close at N4,021.20 per share. It was followed closely by International Energy Insurance Plc, which emerged as the second-highest gainer of the day by advancing 9.90 per cent to finish at N8.77 per share.
The remaining spots on the prime leaderboard were swept by strong banking and insurance counters. Abbey Mortgage Bank Plc spiked 9.76 per cent to close at N11.25, while its sub-sector peer, Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank Plc, grew 9.63 per cent to settle at N10.25.
Rounding out the top five gainers was financial services powerhouse, First HoldCo Plc, which advanced 8.49 per cent to finish the trading session at N69.00 per share.
Market operators continue to advise retail investors to maintain positions in fundamentally sound assets as the trading week progresses.