The Nigerian equities market extended its rally last week, with investors gaining approximately N1.38 trillion amid renewed buying interest in banking, insurance, and oil and gas stocks. Data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) revealed that market capitalisation rose from N155.59 trillion to N156.97 trillion, marking an increase of about N1.38 trillion. Similarly, the benchmark NGX all-share index (ASI) advanced by 0.88 per cent week-on-week to close at 244,738.74 points.
Last week’s gain pushed the market’s year-to-date return to 57.27 per cent, indicating sustained investor confidence in the equities market despite intermittent profit-taking witnessed during the week. Market sentiment remained broadly positive as advancing stocks outnumbered losers. A total of 48 stocks recorded price appreciation, compared with 43 decliners, resulting in a positive market breadth of 1.12 times. This suggests that while investors remained active across the market, buying interest was concentrated in selected stocks with strong growth prospects.
Trading Activity Strengthens
Trading activity also strengthened significantly during the review period. Investors exchanged 4.96 billion shares worth N207.6 billion in 236,276 deals, reflecting continued portfolio rebalancing and strong participation from both institutional and retail investors. Trading volume increased by 25.14 per cent, while the value of transactions rose by 18.1 per cent. However, the number of deals declined by 31.33 per cent, indicating that larger transactions accounted for a greater share of market activity.
Sector Performance Mixed
Sector performance was mixed, reflecting varying investor sentiment across industries. The banking index rose by 0.98 per cent, supported by continued investor interest in fundamentally strong lenders. The insurance index emerged as the best-performing sector, gaining 1.63 per cent, while the oil and gas index appreciated by 0.5 per cent. On the other hand, profit-taking activities weighed on some sectors. The consumer goods index declined by 1.96 per cent, the industrial goods index shed one per cent, while the commodities index fell by 0.36 per cent.
Individual Stock Performances
Among individual stocks, Abbey Mortgage Bank led the gainers’ chart with a 45.3 per cent increase in share price. It was followed by International Energy Insurance, which gained 19.7 per cent, Consolidated Hallmark Holdings (18.7 per cent), ABC Transport (14.5 per cent) and FTN Cocoa Processors (13.9 per cent). Market analysts attributed the strong stock performance to renewed buying interest and improved investor sentiment in selected mid-cap and large-cap counters.
On the other hand, Fidson Healthcare topped the losers’ chart after shedding 24.5 per cent. Academy Press declined by 18.6 per cent, while UH Real Estate Investment Trust lost 17.4 per cent. Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals fell by 15.1 per cent while Learn Africa dropped by 13 per cent as investors locked in profits following earlier gains.
