NGX close bullish midweek as Nestle, others lift market by ₦71bn

The Nigerian equities market concluded the midweek trading session on a bullish note on Wednesday. Large and medium-capitalized stocks, including Nestle Nigeria, First Holdco, AVA Capital, VFD Group, and FCMB Group, led the gains. The All‑Share Index gained 109.41 points, marking a 0.04% increase to close at 244,912.24 points. Market capitalization expanded by N71bn to N158.087tn.

However, investor sentiment remained negative, with 27 stocks declining compared to 20 advancers. Linkage Assurance was the highest gainer, up 9.94% to N1.77 per share. AVA Capital followed with a 9.55% rise to N10.90, and Fortis Global Insurance increased by 7.69% to N2.80 per share. McNichols climbed 7.34% to N5.85, and Wapic Insurance gained 5.51% to N2.49 per share.

PZ Cussons Nigeria and Honeywell Flour Mills led the decliners, dropping 9.94% each to N74.75 and N16.30, respectively. Total volume traded decreased by 47.3% to 824.06 million units, worth N25.47bn in 48,114 deals. The shares of FCMB Group led market activity with 358.395 million shares traded at N3.948bn, followed by Chams Holding Company, Access Holdings, and First Holdco.