The Nigerian equities market rebounded on Thursday, as strong gains in SEPLAT lifted the NGX All-Share Index (NGX-ASI) by 0.15% to close at 246,388.22 points. The NGX-ASI’s year-to-date gain consequently improved to 58.33%. Market capitalisation increased by 0.15% to NGN159.15 trillion, representing an estimated NGN238.37 billion addition to investors’ wealth. However, market sentiment remained weak, with 22 gainers against 33 losers, resulting in a weak breadth ratio of 0.67x. The up/down volume ratio also remained subdued at 0.26x, highlighting the dominance of selling pressure despite the positive movement in the NGX All-Share Index. The weak breadth and volume ratio suggested that the rebound was relatively narrow.

Sectoral performance was mixed, with the Oil & Gas Index emerging as the strongest performer after advancing by 2.22%, supported by a 10.00% gain in SEPLAT. The Insurance Index, however, declined sharply by 2.00%, following losses in AIICO and SOVRENINS. The Banking and Consumer Goods indices fell by 0.27% and 0.18%, respectively, owing to declines in UBA, GTCO and NASCON. The contrasting sector performance underscored the concentration of the day’s index gains, particularly in the Oil & Gas sector.