Nigeria’s equities market staged a modest rebound on Thursday, halting its recent slide as gains in Seplat Energy, Access Holdings, Transnational Corporation and Guaranty Trust Holding Company pushed the NGX All-Share Index up 0.1 per cent to close at 242,378.13 points.
The marginal recovery, however, failed to erase the market’s losses for September, leaving the Month-to-Date return at -0.8 per cent, while the Year-to-Date gain settled at 55.8 per cent.
The session was driven largely by strong performances among some heavyweight stocks, with Seplat Energy leading the gainers after its share price surged 10 per cent. Transnational Corporation gained 4.5 per cent, Access Holdings advanced 5.7 per cent, while Guaranty Trust Holding Company rose 1.5 per cent.
Despite the positive movement in the benchmark index, overall market sentiment remained weak, reflecting continued pressure across a broad section of listed equities.
Market breadth was negative, with 29 stocks declining against 23 gainers, translating to a breadth ratio of 0.8x.
Japaul Gold and Ventures joined Seplat Energy among the strongest performers, gaining 9.8 per cent, while Royal Exchange and Academy Press were among the decliners. RT Briscoe and Aradel Holdings recorded the steepest losses, shedding 10 per cent each.
Trading activity, however, surged sharply as investors exchanged 1.40 billion shares in 46,218 deals, representing a 161.8 per cent increase in volume compared with the previous session.
The value of transactions stood at ₦27.14 billion, underscoring a significant increase in market activity despite the relatively weak breadth.
FTG Insurance dominated trading by volume, accounting for 1.03 billion shares, while Aradel Holdings led by value with transactions worth ₦5.34 billion.
The surge in volume was therefore heavily concentrated in a few counters, suggesting that the jump in market activity did not necessarily translate into broad-based buying pressure.
Performance across sectors was also mixed.
The Oil and Gas index emerged as the best-performing sector, rising 0.8 per cent, supported by the strong advance in Seplat Energy. The Banking index followed with a 0.7 per cent gain, reflecting buying interest in major banking stocks including Access Holdings and Guaranty Trust Holding Company.
In contrast, the Consumer Goods index declined 1.0 per cent, while the Insurance index fell 0.4 per cent. The Industrial Goods index closed unchanged.
The session came against the backdrop of the market’s recent correction, which has tempered what had been a powerful rally in Nigerian equities this year.
With the All-Share Index still up 55.8 per cent year-to-date, investors remain significantly in positive territory, although the recent pullback has raised questions about the sustainability of the rally and the direction of funds in the final months of the year.