Midweek trading activities on the local bourse were mild as the bulls extended their lead for the second consecutive day, driven by strong momentum in financial stocks.
Consequently, the benchmark index rallied positively by 0.23 percent to close at 100,299.48 points, reflecting robust buying interest across various counters.
The market capitalisation of traded equities also increased by 0.23 percent to N56.74 trillion, providing equity investors with gains of N131.08 billion on Wednesday.
The exchange saw more gainers (28) compared to decliners (19), resulting in a year-to-date return of 34.14%. Market breadth on Wednesday was mixed due to low-traded volumes.
The daily average volume decreased by 6.41% to 342.2 million units, and the total number of deals for the day dropped by 12.38% to 7,592.
Conversely, the traded value rose by 15.47 percent to N4.75 billion.
Fidelity Bank Plc emerged as the most traded security by volume and value, with 137.64 million units worth N1.42 billion in a total of 585 deals.
Sectoral performance was generally positive, except for the oil and gas sector, which remained muted.
The Insurance and Banking sectors experienced positive investor sentiment, recording gains of 2.67 percent and 1.71 percent, respectively.
They were followed by the Consumer Goods and Industrial Goods sectors, which saw mild gains of 0.03 percent and 0.17 percent due to positive price movements within those sectors.
At the end of trading, the top gainers included Cornerstone Insurance Plc (9.57%), RTBriscoe Plc (9.38%), IMG (9.24%), UPDC REIT (9.00%), and Caverton Plc (6.92%). On the other hand, the top decliners were UPL (10.00%), Daar Communication Plc (5.88%), Omatek Plc (5.80%), Neimeth Pharmaceutical Plc (5.63%), and Unity Bank Plc (5.49%).
The Overnight Nigerian Interbank Offered Rate (NIBOR) increased by 121 basis points to 32.51 percent at midweek, reflecting limited liquidity in the financial system and prompting banks with funding obligations to seek liquidity.
Conversely, the 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month NIBOR rates decreased to 25.50 percent, 26.25 percent, and 27.17 percent, respectively.
Key money market rates such as the Open Repo Rate (OPR) and Overnight Lending Rate (OVN) also trended upward, closing at 31.69 percent and 32.28 percent, respectively.
The Nigerian Interbank Treasury Bills True Yield (NITTY) rates increased across most tenors as investor sentiment turned positive, leading to rate increases across various tenor gauges by 41 basis points, 42 basis points, 19 basis points, and 27 basis points, respectively.
The secondary market for Nigerian Treasury Bills was moderately active and bullish, resulting in a basis point drop in the average T-bills yield to 19.67 percent.
In the bond market, trading activity at the secondary FGN Bonds market was quiet, with yields on all maturities remaining unchanged.
However, the average secondary market yield closed negative at 18.76 percent compared to the previous close due to a mild sell-off in the MAY-33 bill.
In the sovereign Eurobonds market, positive sentiment and buying interest were observed across various maturities, particularly impacting the MAR-29, FEB-30, and SEP-51-dollar bonds, leading to a 13 basis points drop in the average yield to 10.19 percent.
The foreign exchange market saw pressure on the naira from speculative activities and rising demand, causing the naira to weaken against the US dollar across market segments.
In the official NAFEM market, the naira closed at N1, 512.61 per dollar, a 0.21 percent decline from the previous close. In the parallel market, the naira depreciated by 0.60 percent, ending the day at an average of N1, 514 per dollar.
In the global commodity market, oil prices steadied on Wednesday after trading higher due to a bigger-than-expected drawdown in U.S. crude stockpiles, while economic headwinds from China and the eurozone capped gains. Brent crude futures edged up 0.38 percent to $86.57 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 0.32 percent to $83.08, with both benchmarks hitting their highest levels since April.