The Nigerian equities market maintained its upward momentum on Wednesday as renewed demand for banking stocks offset profit-taking in select counters, keeping the Nigerian Exchange near historic highs despite a slowdown in trading activity.

The benchmark NGX All-Share Index ended the session at 242,366.75 points, while investors’ year-to-date return remained robust at 55.8 per cent, reflecting sustained confidence in the domestic equities market amid expectations of stronger corporate earnings and continued portfolio repositioning.

Although the benchmark index recorded only a marginal movement, the market’s overall value expanded by N390.32bn, pushing total market capitalisation to N156.24tn, underscoring continued wealth creation for investors.

The day’s performance was largely driven by renewed buying interest in banking heavyweights, with First HoldCo Plc gaining 10 per cent, Transnational Corporation Plc rising 6.2 per cent, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc advancing 2.4 per cent, and Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc adding 1.1 per cent. Their gains outweighed losses recorded in selected consumer and industrial stocks, helping to sustain positive market sentiment.

Investor appetite remained firmly positive, with market breadth closing at about 1.8 times, as 31 stocks appreciated against 17 decliners.

Among the day’s top performers were First HoldCo Plc, Thomas Wyatt Nigeria Plc, Legend Internet Plc, Tripple Gee & Company Plc, and McNichols Plc, while Trans-Nationwide Express Plc, International Breweries Plc, HMC Allied Plc, DAAR Communications Plc, and Nigerian Exchange Group Plc ranked among the major losers.

Sectoral performance was mixed. The Banking Index emerged as the best-performing sector with a 2.2 per cent gain, reflecting strong demand for tier-one lenders. The Insurance Index also advanced 0.7 per cent, while the Consumer Goods and Industrial Goods indices declined 0.3 per cent and 0.2 per cent, respectively. The Oil and Gas sector closed unchanged.

Despite the positive market close, trading activity weakened considerably as many investors adopted a cautious stance following the recent rally. Total trading volume fell by about 25 per cent to 453.2 million shares, while the value of transactions dropped by more than 44 per cent to approximately N27.2bn, executed in nearly 40,000 deals.

First HoldCo Plc dominated market activity, accounting for the highest traded volume of 78.66 million shares valued at N6.19bn, reinforcing strong institutional and retail interest in the banking stock.

Market analysts said the resilience of banking stocks continued to provide support for the broader market, as investors positioned ahead of the half-year earnings season and potential interim dividend announcements. They noted that attractive valuations in fundamentally strong companies had continued to attract bargain hunters despite intermittent profit-taking.