As the first quarter draws to a close, the equities market ended the trading session on a positive note, rising 22bps to settle at 105,660.64 points. The upward movement was primarily driven by GTCO (+7.08%), as investors cheered its strong earnings and final dividend payout of ₦7.03 per share. Momentum spread across select blue chips, with Nestlé (+2.00%), Total (+6.70%), AccessCorp (+1.59%), NAHCO (+7.04%), NASCON (+6.86%), FirstHoldCo (+0.54%), NB (+1.49%), and UPDC (+10.00%) all posting solid gains.
However, the session wasn’t without its pockets of weakness. Zenith (-1.67%), Transcorp (-1.33%), DangSugar (-4.06%), Cadbury (-9.42%), Aradel (-0.99%), and Fidelity (-0.78%) closed lower. Meanwhile, market heavyweights Dangote Cement and Seplat remained flat, while a significant off-market transaction of 3.5 million shares was recorded in Geregu at ₦650 per share.
Market turnover hit ₦21.6 billion ($14.0 million), with Aradel, GTCO, Nestlé, Geregu, and Zenith Bank driving the bulk of trades. With a +2.67% year-to-date gain, the market enters the new quarter with a mix of optimism and caution. Investors are keeping a close watch on macroeconomic shifts and corporate earnings, seeking fresh catalysts to dictate the next move.