The Nigerian equities market extended its positive momentum on Wednesday for the third consecutive session as the benchmark All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 0.08% to close at 132,557.43 points.
This modest advance followed sustained investor interest in select counters despite profit-taking pressures during early trading.
The market capitalisation increased by ₦67 billion to close at ₦83.856 trillion, up from ₦83.789 trillion in the previous session.
The mid-week uptick was largely driven by positioning in dividend and recapitalization-themed stocks as investors anticipate interim earnings and sectoral rebalancing post-Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting.
Academy Press Plc emerged as one of the day’s top performers, rising by 10% from ₦7 to ₦7.70 amid expectations of a proposed dividend and bonus issue. TIP advanced by 9.98% gain to close at ₦13.34 from a previous low of ₦12.13.
Other notable gainers included Ikeja Hotel Plc, which rose 9.95% to close at ₦21; Enamelware, up 9.84% to ₦24.55; and NAHCO, which gained 9.65% to close at ₦117.
The session witnessed robust trading activity with a total of 681.24 million shares exchanged in 26,931 deals, valued at ₦17.02 billion.
Stocks such as Access Holdings, Ellah Lakes, Japaul Gold, Royal Exchange, and Universal Insurance led in volume and turnover.
Investor sentiment remained cautiously optimistic, supported by improving foreign exchange reforms, declining yields in the fixed-income market and recapitalization strategies in the banking sector.
Analysts at Vetiva Research noted, “Momentum remains concentrated in a few large-cap names, particularly in the industrial and consumer goods sectors, raising the risk of short-term fatigue. With banks largely muted and oil & gas under pressure, investors may begin rotating into underperforming sectors like insurance or select mid-cap names.”
They further added that sustaining the ASI above the 132,000-point mark will be critical to preserving investor confidence heading into the second half of the earnings season.
Market participants are expected to maintain a tactical approach as corporate earnings reports begin to shape near-term positioning and capital flows.