The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) closed Friday’s trading session marginally lower, with market capitalisation easing by N20 billion to N163.66 trillion as investors traded 708.81 million shares across 42,434 deals.
The equity market capitalisation slipped from N163.68 trillion recorded on Thursday, while the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) declined 0.015% to 252,113.41 points from 252,150.01 points.
Despite the marginal decline, market breadth remained positive, with 39 stocks gaining against 27 decliners.
Zichis Agro Allied Industries Plc emerged as the session’s top gainer, rising 10% to N17.60 from N16.00.
Critical Minerals Financing Corp Plc followed with a 9.76% gain to N3.26, while R.T. Briscoe (Nigeria) Plc advanced 9.74% to N10.70.
The financial services sector remained the biggest driver of market activity, accounting for more than 486 million shares traded across the Main and Premium Boards.
The NGX Banking Index, however, declined 0.69% to 2,721.83 points.
The conglomerates sector recorded 69.29 million shares in 674 deals, with Transnational Corporation Plc (Transcorp) accounting for 65.74 million shares.
Agriculture stocks accounted for 13.67 million shares, with Zichis Agro Allied Industries emerging as the market’s top gainer.
Friday’s marginal decline came after Nigerian equities extended their recent rally on Thursday, when market capitalisation gained N622 billion.
Thursday’s advance followed Wednesday’s milestone, when the market capitalisation crossed the N163 trillion mark for the first time.
Despite Friday’s slight pullback, trading remained broad-based, with 39 gainers outnumbering 27 decliners as investors continued to participate actively across several sectors.
