Investors at the Nigerian Exchange Market recorded a N73 billion gain on Thursday, a day after losing N1.62 trillion.

This comes as data from Nigerian Exchange Limited showed that market capitalization on Thursday rose from N159.660 trillion to N159.733 trillion, representing an increase of N73 billion, or 0.05 percent.

Similarly, the All-Share Index advanced from 249,062.37 to 249,175.39, gaining 113.02 points, or 0.05 percent.

Consequently, the year-to-date return improved to 60.13 percent.

However, market breadth closed negative, with 44 losers compared to 19 gainers.

On the gainers’ chart, International Energy Insurance led by 10 percent, closing at N3.41; ABC Transport followed by 9.93 percent, settling at N9.08; and Unilever Nigeria gained by 9.80 percent, finishing at N168 per share.

Meanwhile, on the flipside, Berger Paints led the losers’ chart by 10 percent, finishing at N147.60; Learn Africa trailed by 9.96 percent, closing at N11.75, while Daar Communications shed 9.95 percent, ending the session at N1.90 per share.

Further analysis showed that the market activity closed higher for the day, with total traded volume rising by 76.39 per cent to 1.06 billion shares valued at N30.97 billion across 62,448 deals.

Meanwhile, Sterling Nigeria led the volume chart with 322.68 million shares traded, accounting for 30.48 percent of the day’s total volume.

Aradel topped the value chart with transactions worth N5.06 billion, representing 16.35 percent of the total value traded.

Renewed buying interest in some large- and mid-cap stocks, including International Energy Insurance, ABC Transport, Unilever Nigeria, Academy Press, and 14 other equities, helped push the market back into positive territory.

Recall that investors at NGX on Wednesday recorded N1.62 trillion in losses after the Central Bank of Nigeria retained the interest rate at 26.50 percent.