The Nigerian equities market continued its upward trend on Thursday, delivering significant gains for investors. The market capitalization increased substantially, driven by sustained investor interest in a range of equities.

The positive performance was attributed to ongoing investor confidence in equities such as Okomu Oil, Deap Capital Management, Fortis Global Insurance, Infinity Trust, and Zichis Agro Allied Industries, along with 47 other equities. Furthermore, robust earnings releases and the appeal of attractive dividend prospects from companies with stocks valued at over one trillion naira have bolstered investor sentiment. Heightened activity by Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), channeling substantial new funds into large-cap stocks, has also contributed to the market's momentum.

Specifically, the market capitalization rose from N122.236 trillion at the opening of trade to N123.934 trillion at the close, marking an increase of 1.39 per cent, equivalent to N1.698 trillion. The All-Share Index mirrored this positive movement, advancing by 1.39 per cent, or 2,645.61 points, to reach 193,073.57 from its previous close of 190,427.96. The Year-to-date return now stands at 24.09 per cent, with market breadth closing positively, registering 52 gainers against 26 losers.

The top performers on the gainers' chart included:

• Okomu Oil: Increased by 10 per cent, closing at N1,459.70 per share.

• Deap Capital Management: Increased by 10 per cent, closing at N6.93 per share.

• Fortis Global Insurance: Increased by 10 per cent, closing at 55k per share.

• Zichis Agro Allied Industries: Grew by 9.96 per cent, settling at N14.35 per share.

• Infinity Trust: Grew by 9.96 per cent, settling at N15.79 per share.

Conversely, the top losers included:

• Multiverse Mining: Declined by 10 per cent, finishing at N25.20 per share.

• Mc Nicholas: Declined by 10 per cent, finishing at N8.28 per share.

• Tripple Gee: Declined by 10 per cent, finishing at N5.40 per share.

• Secure Electronic Technology: Declined by 10 per cent, finishing at N1.80 per share.

• Meyer: Shed 9.80 per cent, ending the session at N20.70 per share.

Trading activity saw a total of 898.5 million shares, valued at N38.5 billion, transacted in 61,953 deals. This is compared to the previous session on Wednesday, which recorded 3.7 billion shares valued at N61.9 billion traded across 68,693 deals. This represents a 76 per cent drop in volume, a 38 per cent decline in value, and a 10 per cent decrease in the number of deals.

Further analysis of trading activity reveals that Japaul Gold recorded the highest volume with 80.12 million shares traded, accounting for 9.17 per cent of the day’s total volume. GTCO recorded the highest value at N6.20 billion, accounting for 16.51 per cent of the value traded for the day.