Nestlé ignites Stock Market surge as investors rake in N1.44 trillion in a day

By Taiye Olayemi

The Nigerian equity market sustained its bullish momentum on Wednesday, recording a significant gain of ₦1.44 trillion in market capitalisation.

This is largely driven by buying interest in key medium- and large-cap stocks, especially Nestlé Nigeria.

The market capitalisation rose by 1.80 per cent, closing at ₦81.584 trillion, up from ₦80.143 trillion on Monday. Similarly, the All-Share Index (ASI) climbed by 2,277.54 points to settle at 128,967.08, compared to 126,689.54 in the previous session.

The rally was led by Nestlé Nigeria, which appreciated by 10 per cent to close at ₦1,650.00 per share. Other top gainers included Eunisell Interlinked Plc (₦14.85), Omatek Ventures (₦1.76), Secure Electronic Technology (₦1.21), and Tripple Gee (₦4.32), each recording close to 10 per cent gains.

Despite the bullish close, market breadth ended negative, with 45 losers against 41 gainers.

On the losers’ chart, FTN Cocoa Processors and NPF Microfinance Bank both fell by 10 per cent, closing at ₦7.02 and ₦2.43 respectively. Other notable decliners were C&I Leasing (₦7.13), Champion Breweries (₦12.29), and Academy Press (₦8.33), all shedding close to 10 per cent each.

Market activity surged, with investors trading 11.67 billion shares worth ₦363.4 billion across 36,635 transactions, compared to 1.29 million shares valued at ₦32.2 billion traded in 39,437 deals on Monday.

FBN Holdings led in volume and value, exchanging 10.47 billion shares worth ₦324.5 billion. It was followed by UBA with 157.54 million shares valued at ₦7.62 billion, while Access Corporation traded 124.6 million shares worth ₦3.27 billion.

Other active stocks included Universal Insurance (124.1 million shares at ₦89.99 million) and Zenith Bank (66.3 million shares at ₦5.1 billion).

Analysts attribute the sustained rally to renewed investor confidence in blue-chip stocks and expect the trend to continue if macroeconomic conditions remain favourable.