Airtel, Insurers Drive Market Value Past N70tn Milestone

The Nigerian stock market rallied strongly on Tuesday, with market capitalisation surpassing the N70tn threshold, spurred by investor appetite for large-cap stocks such as Airtel Africa and notable gains in the insurance sector.

At the close of trading, the All-Share Index climbed by 1,721.29 points, marking a 1.57% rise to end at 111,606.22 points. This performance lifted the market capitalisation by N1.09tn to settle at N70.38tn, compared to N69.29tn in the previous session.

Airtel Africa emerged as a key driver of the rally, soaring 10% to close at N2,372.50 per share. The surge was complemented by significant price upticks among insurers, including Cornerstone Insurance and AXA Mansard.

Out of 126 stocks traded, 36 closed higher, 21 declined, and 69 remained unchanged.

Among the day’s top gainers were Omatek Ventures, up 9.23% to N0.71 per share; Cornerstone Insurance, up 8.63% to N3.40; and Nigerian Aviation Handling Company, which gained 8.39% to close at N80.75. United Property Development Company appreciated 6.47% to N5.10, while AXA Mansard advanced by 5.88% to finish at N9.00.

Conversely, McNichols led the losers with a 9.80% decline to N2.21 per share. Computer Warehouse Group dropped 9.50% to N9.05, Champion Breweries shed 7.38% to N6.90, and both Red Star Express and Jaiz Bank recorded losses of 4.62% and 4.46%, respectively.

Despite the market’s bullish close, trading activity declined slightly. A total of 409.57 million shares valued at N9.87bn were traded in 15,992 deals—reflecting slight drops of 1% in volume, 11% in value, and 19% in deal count from the previous day.

Custodian Investment led the trading volume with 37.6 million shares, followed by Fidelity Bank with 37 million shares, Veritas Kapital Assurance with 33 million, and Zenith Bank with 27.4 million.

Sectoral indices posted broad gains. The Insurance Index led with a 2.23% increase, followed closely by the Main Board Index (2.20%). Other indices also advanced: Pension Index (1.55%), Top 30 Index (1.54%), Banking Index (0.84%), and Oil & Gas Index (1.41%).

Since the start of the year, the All-Share Index has risen by 8.43%. The Main Board Index is up 10.86%, while the Pension Index has surged 16.08%.