The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) rebounded on Friday as investors’ portfolios gained N30 billion following the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) decision to raise the minimum capital requirements for capital market operators.

Friday’s NGX bullish run was propelled by progress in Red Star Express, NCR Nigeria, and SCOA.

As a result, market capitalization, which opened at N106.323 trillion, rose by N30 billion to close at N106.353 trillion.

Similarly, the All-Share Index appreciated by 0.04 percent, or 72.21 points, to settle at 166,129.50, up from 166,057.29 recorded on Thursday.

Market breadth closed positive, with 43 gainers against 26 losers.

Red Star Express topped the gainers’ chart with a 10 percent increase to close at N13.20 per share. NCR Nigeria followed with a 9.97 percent rise to N128.55, while SCOA advanced by 9.96 percent to finish at N14.90.

Omatek Ventures gained 9.94 percent to close at N1.77, while Deap Capital Management rose by 9.85 percent to settle at N4.46 per share.

On the losers’ side, McNicholas led with an 8.81 percent decline to close at N6. Legend Internet dropped by 7.56 percent to N5.50, while Cornerstone Insurance shed 6.48 percent to finish at N6.35.

Cileasing also fell by 6.29 percent to N8.20, while Austinlaz declined by 5.78 percent to close at N3.75 per share.

Trading activity weakened during the session, as total volume and value declined. A total of 539.9 million shares worth N16.7 billion were traded in 48,023 deals, compared with 1.03 billion shares valued at N31.6 billion exchanged in 51,227 transactions on Thursday.

Zenith Bank recorded the highest trading activity, with 54.55 million shares valued at N3.79 billion. This represented 10.10 percent of the total volume and 22.68 percent of the total value traded during the day.

Recall SEC on Friday announced new capital thresholds for all market operators, setting June 30, 2027, as the compliance deadline.