In a remarkable display of bullish momentum, Nigeria’s equities market posted its highest weekly gain of the year, as a surge in investor appetite for banking and insurance stocks propelled the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) to a hefty N3.464 trillion increase in market capitalisation.

The market advanced by 4.26 per cent in the week ended Friday, July 11, reflecting heightened investor confidence and a broadbased rally across sectors.

The benchmark NGX AllShare Index (ASI) rose from 120,989.66 points to close at 126,149.59 points, while the total market capitalisation surged from N76.339 trillion to N79.803 trillion.

This sharp uptick pushed the year-to-date return to a fresh high of 22.56 per cent, underscoring a strong mid-year performance for Africa’s largest stock market.

A sweeping breadth of gainers defined the week’s rally, with 90 equities appreciating in price— an improvement over the 78 recorded in the previous week. Only 16 equities declined, compared to 20 in the prior period, while 41 remained unchanged.

All sectoral indices closed the week in the green, save for the NGX Oil and Gas Index, which shed 0.72 per cent. The financial services sector was the undisputed engine of the rally, accounting for 56 per cent of total trade volume and 52.17 per cent of value.

The sector recorded 3.019 billion shares traded, valued at N56.244 billion across 55,574 deals.

Other sectors that featured prominently include the Oil and Gas sector, with 565.645 million shares worth N8.111 billion exchanged in 9,914 deals, and the Services sector, which recorded a turnover of 466.153 million shares valued at N2.595 billion in 10,832 transactions.

Investor appetite was especially pronounced in three equities: Access Holdings Plc, Japaul Gold & Ventures Plc, and AIICO Insurance Plc.

These stocks collectively accounted for 1.396 billion shares valued at N15.835 billion, representing 25.90 percent and 14.69 per cent of the total turnover volume and value, respectively.

Meanwhile, market turnover remained robust despite a marginal dip. A total of 5.390 billion shares valued at N107.811 billion were traded in 134,390 deals, slightly down from 5.466 billion shares worth N108.099 billion exchanged in 118,570 deals the previous week.

This record-breaking performance reaffirms the NGX’s growing appeal among domestic and institutional investors, with financial stocks continuing to dominate on the back of strong earnings prospects, corporate actions, and renewed macroeconomic optimism.