The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) bounced back on Thursday as market capitalization increased by N240 billion, driven by renewed investor interest in Nigeria Breweries and 22 other stocks.

The All-Share Index (ASI) advanced by 381.93 points (0.37%) to close at 104,233.81 points, while market capitalization climbed to N65.499 trillion.

The market upturn was fueled by price gains in large and medium-capitalized stocks including Nigeria Breweries, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), Oando, Custodian Investment, and Fidelity Bank.

Looking ahead to post-Easter trading, analysts at Vetiva Dealings and Brokerage anticipate a slow start: "With the market heading into the Easter break, we expect a quiet beginning to the next session as activity typically decreases after holidays. However, recent momentum in banking and consumer goods sectors could maintain mild positive sentiment, though this week's weak buy-side turnover may temper overall risk appetite."

Market breadth showed slightly positive sentiment with 24 gainers versus 23 losers. Abbey Mortgage Bank led the gainers with a 9.94% increase, closing at N8.96 per share, followed by Nigeria Breweries (9.86%, N36.20), ABC Transports (9.23%, N1.42), Livestock Feeds (9.20%, N9.50), and ETI (8.94%, N29.25).

On the losers' side, SUNU Assurance topped with a 9.91% decline to N5.00, followed by Ellah Lakes (-9.76%, N3.05), Cornerstone Insurance (-9.44%, N2.59), Sovereign Trust Insurance (-9.18%, N0.89), and Universal Insurance (-7.55%, N0.49).

Trading volume increased by 7.01% to 376.292 million units valued at N7.906 billion across 11,204 deals. Universal Insurance led activity with 89.266 million shares worth N44.369 million, followed by Fidelity Bank (49.529 million shares, N915.905 million), Access Holdings (32.857 million shares, N715.327 million), Zenith Bank (15.577 million shares, N685.443 million), and Nigeria Breweries (15.418 million shares, N555.571 million).​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​