Stock Market rebounds after four-day slump, gains massive N279bn

After four straight sessions of declines, the Nigerian stock market roared back on Thursday, wiping out earlier losses with a N279 billion rebound.

The renewed surge was fuelled by aggressive bargain-hunting and heightened investor appetite for stocks such as Mecure Industries, Oando, McNicholas, CHAMS, Legend Internet, and 29 others.

Stock Market capitalisation, which opened at N89.063 trillion, climbed by N279 billion to close at N89.342 trillion.

Likewise, the All-Share Index advanced by 0.31 per cent, or 432.94 points, finishing the day at 141,149.04, compared with 140,716.10 posted on Wednesday.

Stock Market breadth tilted in favour of the bulls, with 34 gainers outpacing 22 losers. Mecure Industries led the rally with a 9.89 per cent jump to N26.10, while Oando followed closely, gaining 9.50 per cent to N49.00. McNicholas surged 9.31 per cent to N3.64, CHAMS appreciated 9.24 per cent to N3.43, and Legend Internet climbed 9.18 per cent to N5.35.

On the losers’ side, Eterna topped the chart with a 10 per cent decline to N27.90. Sovereign Trust Insurance fell 4.84 per cent to N2.95, The Initiates dropped 3.84 per cent to N12.02, Caverton dipped 3.76 per cent to N6.40, while Fidson shed 3.72 per cent to N41.40.

Trading activity was exceptionally robust, with a staggering 5.5 billion shares valued at N419.7 billion exchanged in 20,399 deals, compared to 442.6 million shares worth N16.9 billion traded across 21,684 deals on Wednesday.

Aradel Holdings dominated the activity chart, accounting for 693.3 million shares worth N388.2 billion. Consolidated Hallmark Holdings followed with 333.3 million shares valued at N1.3 billion, while Sterling Nigeria recorded 104.9 million shares worth N771.8 million. Zenith Bank traded 45.5 million shares valued at N3.14 billion, and Unity Bank exchanged 4 million shares worth N12.7 billion.

Thursday’s rebound underscores the resilience of the Nigerian capital market, signalling renewed confidence among investors eager to capture value after days of persistent losses.