By Yakubu LAAH InvestAdvocate

Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Tuesday sustained its bullish trading at the end of the session as all-share index (ASI) gained 1.34 percent to close at 33,670.75 points, while market capitalisation climbed up N144.56 million to close at N11.15 trillion.

With this development, current Year-to-Date (YTD) returns at the Nigerian equities market   stands at a negative 18.53 percent.

Cordros in its report affirmed that pressure continued on the shares of cement maker, Dangote Cement Plc (DANGCEM), forcing the stock to lose another maximum point  of 5.00 percent at the close of the day’s transactions.

The report says the bullish drive at the end of the session was as a result of higher demand; particularly in the oil/gas and consumer goods sectors of the Nigerian bourse which led to the current appreciation and the market’s biggest single-day gain since May 30 2014 stands at a positive 2.95 percent.

‘’Only the industrial index, which lost 1.03 percent, failed to emulate the broader markets performance. The oil/gas index topped the gainers’ chart with a 7.38 percent surge, the consumer goods index followed with a 4.86 percent  addition, while the banking and insurance indices grew by 2.88 percent and 0.41 percent respectively,’’ Cordros said.

Market breadth at the Nigerian equities market showed impressive performance as it recorded 46 gainers and only 13 losers. Oil marketing giant, Oando Plc led the gainers list; while beer makers, Champion Breweries Plc led the losers chart.

In terms of turnover, the Nigerian bourse closed on a negative note as volume dipped 42.82 percent to 280.70 million shares, valued at N3.74 billion and traded in 5,118 deals.

‘’We expect the gains to persist tomorrow, however the market could give way to profit taking activities by short term investors,’’ Cordros report said.