The Nigerian stock market extended its bullish momentum last week, with investors raking in over ₦3.4 trillion in gains, despite a shortened trading week due to a public holiday in honour of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to market data from the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), market capitalisation surged from ₦79.803 trillion the previous week to ₦83.241 trillion, representing a significant increase of ₦3.438 trillion. Similarly, the All-Share Index (ASI) appreciated by 4.3%, closing at 131,585.66 basis points, up from 126,149.59 points the week before.
The market’s upward movement was largely driven by impressive price gains in blue-chip stocks. Dangote Cement gained 16.47% week-on-week (WoW), while BUA Cement posted an outstanding 31.28% WoW increase. Stanbic IBTC appreciated by 18.38%, and Nestle Foods recorded a notable 20% WoW gain.
These gains pushed the year-to-date (YtD) performance of the market to 27.84%, reaffirming investors’ confidence in Nigeria’s equities market despite economic uncertainties.
Trading activity on the NGX saw a significant jump in both volume and value. Investors exchanged 17.498 billion shares worth ₦500.762 billion in 142,082 deals, a sharp contrast to the 5.390 billion shares valued at ₦107.811 billion traded in 134,390 deals the previous week.
The Financial Services Industry dominated trading, accounting for 90.13% of total turnover volume and 87.42% of market value. A total of 15.771 billion shares worth ₦437.763 billion were traded in 66,725 deals.
Market analysts attributed this surge to large bulk transactions involving shares of FirstHoldco Plc, linked to Oba Otudeko, former Chairman of FirstHoldco, and Tunde Hassan-Odukale, former Chairman of First Bank Nigeria. In addition, over one billion units of Fidelity Bank shares were traded, further boosting market activity.
The ICT Industry followed with 325.134 million shares worth ₦3.492 billion, while the Consumer Goods Industry recorded 313.424 million shares valued at ₦20.162 billion in 14,917 deals.
The top three traded equities — FirstHoldco Plc, FCMB Group Plc, and Fidelity Bank Plc — accounted for 13.229 billion shares worth ₦367.498 billion, representing 75.60% of total turnover volume and 73.39% of total market value.
While most sectoral indices closed positive, some segments of the market recorded declines. The NGX Insurance, NGX ASeM, NGX Oil and Gas, NGX Growth, and NGX Sovereign Bond indices depreciated by 3.65%, 9.56%, 0.76%, 4.80%, and 0.57%, respectively.
Analysts noted that profit-taking in these sectors contributed to their negative performance, despite the overall bullish market trend.
Market watchers are now turning their attention to the outcome of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting scheduled for this week.
In a note to investors, Cordros Capital stated:
“We expect broad-based sentiment to be shaped by the MPC’s decision as investors weigh its impact on yields and equity valuations. A dovish stance may sustain the rally, while aggressive tightening could trigger profit-taking in some sectors.”
With the stock market maintaining strong momentum and investor confidence improving, analysts believe that the bullish trend could persist in the near term, barring any major macroeconomic shocks.