THUR NOV 05 2026-theGBJournal| The Nigerian equities market closed higher on Wednesday, with the All-Share Index (ASI) advancing 0.2% to 254,762.81 points, supported by gains in GTCO (+5.1%), TRANSPOWER (+10.0%), ZENITHBANK (+2.7%) and UBA (+2.7%).
Market capitalisation also increased by 0.2% to ₦165.41 trillion, while Month-to-Date (MTD) and Year-to-Date (YTD) returns settled at +0.2% and +63.4%, respectively.
Trading activity strengthened, with total volume traded rising 5.1% to 552.29 million units, valued at ₦37.45 billion across 32,815 deals. ZICHIS led trading by volume with 127.48 million units, while FIRSTHOLDCO topped transactions by value at ₦12.67 billion.
Sectoral performance was mixed. The Banking index gained 0.7%, while Insurance (-0.5%), Consumer Goods (-0.1%) and Oil & Gas (-0.1%) closed lower. The Industrial Goods index remained unchanged.
Market breadth remained positive at 1.2x, with 27 advancers against 23 decliners. TRANSPOWER (+10.0%) and CAVERTON (+9.8%) led the gainers, while ETERNA (-9.9%) and SOVRENINS (-9.9%) recorded the steepest losses.
NASD OTC MARKET
The NASD OTC market closed Wednesday’s session in negative territory, with the NASD Securities Index (NSI) declining 0.88% day-on-day to 4,191.14 points. Market capitalisation also shed 0.87% to ₦2.52 trillion, bringing the YTD return to 18.27%.
Despite the weaker market performance, trading activity improved significantly. Total volume traded advanced 97.68% to 517,920 units, while transaction value increased 122.93% to ₦52.85 million. The number of deals also rose 34.78% to 31.
SDINGINPLC (+10.0%) emerged as the session’s top gainer, while SDOKITIPUPA (-10.0%) led the decliners.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE MARKET
In the foreign exchange market, the official naira rate appreciated by 3 basis points (bps) to close at ₦1,347.00 per US dollar.
Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s published reference rates for November 4, the latest available currency-specific data, placed the euro at ₦1,518.94 and the British pound sterling at ₦1,818.85.
The corresponding CBN buying and selling rates were:
Euro (EUR): Buying ₦1,518.38 | Central ₦1,518.94 | Selling ₦1,519.51.
British Pound (GBP): Buying ₦1,818.18 | Central ₦1,818.85 | Selling ₦1,819.53.
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