Details of the trading on Wednesday at Nigerian Exchange Limited showed that market capitalisation rose by 0.06 per cent, increasing from N156.943 trillion to N157.042 trillion.

Similarly, the All-Share Index (ASI) gained 154.59 points, or 0.06 per cent, to close at 244,852.21, compared with 244,697.62 recorded in the previous session.

The sustained rally further strengthened the market’s year-to-date (YTD) return to 57.35 per cent.

Despite the stocks’ bullish run on Wednesday, market breadth remained negative, with 37 stocks recording losses against 30 gainers, indicating a broader sell-off across the market.

On the gainers chart, Livestock Feeds led by 10 per cent, settling at N9.35; Deep Capital, Abbey Mortgage Bank, Vitafoam, and FTN Cocoa Processors are among the stocks that recorded a surge on Wednesday.

On the flipside, FG142037S2 led the decliners’ chart by 26.67 per cent, closing at N95.33. Followed by Neimeth Pharmaceuticals, International Energy Insurance, John Holt, and Union Homes Real Estate Investment Trust.

Further analysis showed that the market activity declined for the day, with total trading volume falling by 3.47 per cent to 1.23 billion shares valued at N38.84 billion in 54,193 transactions.

Accordingly, Sterling Nigeria emerged as the most actively traded stock by volume, accounting for 565.33 million shares or 46.10 per cent of the total volume traded.

Aradel led in value terms with transactions worth N6.82 billion, representing 17.55 per cent of the day’s total market value.