Nigeria’s equities market extended its winning streak on Monday, with the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) recording a ₦1.91 trillion increase in market capitalisation as investors maintained strong interest in selected large-cap stocks.

The gain represented a 1.20 per cent rise and marked the fourth consecutive trading session in which the market closed on a positive note.

Market capitalisation reached ₦160.421 trillion at the opening of trading before settling at ₦158.513 trillion at the close of the session.

The NGX All-Share Index (ASI) also advanced by 2,956.15 points, equivalent to a 1.20 per cent increase, closing at 248,529.75 points compared with 245,573.60 points recorded on Friday.

With the latest performance, the market’s year-to-date return climbed to 59.71 per cent.

Despite the overall gain, market breadth was negative, with 37 stocks recording losses against 23 gainers.

AVA Capital posted the biggest decline, falling 10 per cent to close at ₦9.90 per share. Ecobank Transnational Corporation followed with a 9.92 per cent drop to ₦64.95, while Caverton Offshore Support Group declined by 9.09 per cent to ₦5.

Ikeja Hotel also lost 8.41 per cent to finish at ₦43, while FTN Cocoa Processors declined by 8.37 per cent to ₦8.10 per share.

On the other hand, Fortis Global Insurance emerged as the session’s strongest performer, gaining 10 per cent to ₦2.86 per share. Chams rose 9.80 per cent to ₦4.48, while Nigerian Aviation Handling Company appreciated by 9.29 per cent to ₦153.

Airtel Africa advanced by 8.59 per cent to close at ₦6,300, while Sovereign Trust Insurance gained 6.59 per cent to ₦1.78 per share.

Trading activity, however, weakened during the session. Total volume fell by 25.11 per cent to 1.14 billion shares, with transactions valued at ₦27.02 billion executed across 59,185 deals.

Consolidated Hallmark Plc accounted for the largest portion of the traded volume, recording 354.07 million shares or 31.14 per cent of the total.

In terms of transaction value, First Holdco led the market with deals worth ₦5.12 billion, representing 18.94 per cent of the day’s total value.

Commenting on the market’s performance, Managing Director of GlobalView Capital Ltd., Mr Kebira Aruna, attributed the positive movement largely to gains posted by stocks with market capitalisation exceeding ₦1 trillion.

Aruna explained that these very large companies, commonly described as SWOOTs, can have a disproportionate effect on the direction of the wider equities market.

He noted that significant price movements in major companies such as Airtel Africa could quickly translate into gains for the broader market indices.

According to the analyst, the growing number of companies with substantial market capitalisation shows that the Nigerian equities market has expanded beyond the era when only a handful of stocks could determine its overall direction.

He said more than 20 companies now have sufficient market weight to exert considerable influence on market performance.

Aruna also commented on the revised pricing methodology scheduled to take effect from Aug. 16, saying the changes could lead to wider price movements and increased volatility among various categories of stocks.

He explained that the new approach would introduce different board-lot requirements for different classes of securities.

The analyst expressed optimism that the adjustment would improve price discovery and enable market prices to better reflect actual trading activity.