Investors in the Nigerian equities market gained approximately ₦100 billion as trading activity on the Nigerian Exchange Limited increased significantly during the latest trading session.
Market turnover rose by 161.79 per cent to 1.40 billion shares, compared with about 535 million shares traded during the preceding session.
The shares were exchanged in transactions valued at approximately ₦27.14 billion, reflecting increased investor participation in the market.
The improved performance pushed the market capitalisation of listed equities higher by about ₦100 billion, representing the aggregate increase in the value of investors’ holdings at the close of trading.
FTG Insurance Plc dominated trading activity, accounting for about 73.69 per cent of the total volume recorded during the session. This amounted to more than one billion shares of the company changing hands.
The concentration of transactions in FTG Insurance indicated that the sharp increase in overall trading volume was driven largely by activity in a single stock rather than a broad-based rise across all listed equities.
Nevertheless, the increase in market capitalisation showed that gains recorded by some highly capitalised stocks were sufficient to keep the market in positive territory.
Trading volume measures the number of shares exchanged during a session, while market capitalisation represents the total value of all listed shares based on their closing prices.
Consequently, a substantial increase in volume does not necessarily produce an equivalent increase in market value, particularly where most transactions are concentrated in lower-priced stocks.
The latest performance comes as investors continue to assess company earnings, dividend prospects, interest rates, inflation and developments in Nigeria’s broader economy.