The Nigerian equities market extended its bullish trend on Thursday, July 4, 2025, with the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) gaining a notable N403 billion in market capitalisation, largely powered by renewed investor interest in banking and insurance stocks. The latest uptick in market activity reflects rising investor optimism amidst improving sectoral performance and broader macroeconomic adjustments.
At the close of trading, the NGX market capitalisation rose to N76.6tn, up from N76.2tn recorded the previous day. The All-Share Index (ASI) advanced by 637.30 points, representing a 0.53% increase, to close at 120,977.20 points. This marks a weekly gain of 0.17%, a four-week surge of 8%, and an impressive year-to-date (YTD) return of 17.54%.
Sectoral indices painted a clear picture of the bullish momentum. The Insurance Index led sectoral gains with a strong 2.76% rise, followed closely by the Banking Index, which climbed 1.29%. Other contributors included the Consumer Goods Index (+0.74%), NGX Pension Index (+0.75%), and the Oil & Gas Index (+0.69%), demonstrating broad-based investor participation across key sectors.
A total of 933.4 million shares valued at N29.3bn were traded in 24,207 deals, reflecting an 11% drop in volume but a 141% increase in turnover, suggesting high-value transactions, particularly in large-cap stocks. The number of deals also increased by 10%, indicating rising trading activity.
The market breadth closed strongly positive, with 54 gainers outpacing 15 losers, out of 128 traded stocks. Berger Paints topped the gainers’ chart, appreciating by 10% to close at N33.00, followed by Academy Press, Deap Capital, and Guinea Insurance, all gaining the maximum daily 10%. Other notable climbers included Unilever Nigeria (+9.96%) and FTN Cocoa (+9.95%).
On the flip side, Neimeth Pharmaceuticals led the losers’ chart, declining by 8.49% to close at N7.22. It was trailed by Legend Internet (-7.98%), CWG Plc (-4.5%), and Sovereign Trust Insurance (-4.35%).
Universal Insurance emerged as the most actively traded stock by volume with 67.3 million shares, followed by Access Holdings (62.6m), Chams Plc (59.7m), and Japaul Gold (49.5m). In terms of value, Seplat Energy dominated with trades worth N13.56bn, followed by GTCO (N3.26bn), Nigerian Breweries (N1.81bn), Access Holdings (N1.46bn), and Zenith Bank (N819.7m).
This latest rally follows a recovery that began on Wednesday, when the NGX gained N378bn in market capitalisation, reversing the bearish sentiment that had characterized the start of July. Analysts attribute the bounce-back to renewed foreign interest in the Nigerian equities market, driven by positive macroeconomic signals such as improved FX stability, easing inflationary pressures, and expectations around Q2 earnings releases.
According to investment analysts at Meristem Securities, “The bullish performance is largely due to rotational flows into fundamentally strong tickers in the banking and insurance sectors. The current valuation of key banking stocks is attracting significant interest, especially ahead of second-quarter earnings releases.”
They further added that the recent performance of the insurance sector reflects ongoing reforms and recapitalisation moves, which have begun to inspire investor confidence after years of stagnation.
Market experts believe the recent upswing offers a glimpse of what could be sustained momentum if macroeconomic policies remain stable and companies begin to post improved earnings in the second half of the year.
With the Nigerian stock market posting double-digit YTD returns, local and foreign institutional investors may further explore opportunities, especially in the financial services, telecoms, and consumer goods sectors.
As investor sentiment continues to improve, market participants will be closely watching upcoming monetary policy cues from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), macroeconomic data, and corporate earnings results to guide their trading strategies.