Stocks rebound with 0.56% gain as bulls reclaim market control

The Nigerian equities market successfully reclaimed its bullish trajectory on Wednesday following a brief period of profit-taking that momentarily cooled the historic rally on Customs Street.

The benchmark All-Share Index (ASI) climbed by 0.56 percent, signalling a swift return of investor confidence and a renewed appetite for fundamentally sound stocks.

This rebound effectively erases Tuesday’s 0.47 percent dip, reinforcing the market’s resilience as it continues to hover near all-time highs for the 2026 trading year.

The market’s return year-to-date (YtD) stood at 22.37 percent at the close of trading. Investor sentiment remained overwhelmingly positive, with gainers outpacing losers, reflecting a constructive outlook as corporate earnings season approaches its peak.

The ASI rose to close at 190,427.96points, up from Tuesday’s close of 189,362.94. Market capitalisation followed suit, increasing by about N680billion to settle at approximately N122.236 trillion. The recovery was largely underpinned by fresh bargain hunting in Oil & Gas, Banking, and Consumer Goods sectors, offsetting the marginal losses seen in the previous session.

In 68,693 deals, investors exchanged 3,668,251,767 shares valued at N61.883billion. Beta Glass rallied most from N453.20 to N498.50, after adding N45.30 or 10 percent. Vitafoam decreased most, from N129.80 to N116.85, losing N12.95 or 9.98 percent.

“The market’s immediate direction will likely be dictated by the sustainability of the rally in the Oil & Gas sector and the continued stabilisation of Tier-1 banking tickers,” Lagos-based Vetiva research analysts said in their post-trading note.

“Investors are expected to monitor whether the current buying momentum in high-cap stocks can counteract any residual profit-taking in the insurance and small-cap segments.

“The significant volume seen in the banking and pension-related stocks suggests that institutional rebalancing is ongoing, which could provide a floor for the benchmark index in the coming sessions,” they added.

Iheanyi Nwachukwu, is a creative content writer with almost two decades journalism experience writing on banking, finance, capital markets, and tax. The multiple awards winning journalist is Assistant Editor, BusinessDay. Iheanyi holds BSc Degree in Economics from Imo State University; Master of Science (MSc) Degree in Management from University of Lagos.

Iheanyi has attended several work-related trainings including (i) Advanced Writing and Reporting Skills (Pan African University, Lagos); (ii) News Agency Journalism (Indian Institute of Mass Communication {IIMC}, New Delhi, India); and (iii) Capital Markets Development and Regulations (International Law Institute {ILI} of Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA).

Other trainings Iheanyi attended include: Economic/Political Risk Analysis (By Thomson Reuters Foundation); International Financial Journalism (IFJ) (By PMA Media Training, UK); Effective Business Writing Skills (By Phillips Consulting); Reporting on Corporate Governance (By International Finance Corporation (IFC) & Thomson Reuters Foundation UK); etc. In addition, he has participated in high-level economy & markets events in Dubai, South Africa, Morocco, and other African countries like Zambia, Ghana and Gambia.

Join BusinessDay whatsapp Channel, to stay up to date