The Nigerian capital market is on the verge of hitting a historic benchmark, with the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) recording an unprecedented N4.31 trillion gain in market capitalisation in a single week. This robust rally pushed the total market cap to N89.373 trillion for the trading week ending Friday, July 26, 2025, making it the strongest weekly performance so far in 2025.
The All-Share Index (ASI) surged by 5.07%, closing at 141,263.05 points, up from 134,440.84 points the previous week. This significant upswing was fueled by renewed investor confidence, strong corporate earnings expectations, and growing foreign interest in Nigerian equities.
Market data from the NGX indicated a sharp rise in trading activity. A total turnover of 4.847 billion shares valued at N149.755 billion exchanged hands in 174,267 deals—an increase from the 3.691 billion shares worth N112.261 billion traded the previous week.
Leading the rally was the financial services sector, which recorded 3.314 billion shares worth N61.084 billion across 70,239 deals. This accounted for 68.37% of the total equity volume and 40.79% of the market value. The consumer goods sector followed with 326.455 million shares valued at N19.777 billion, while the services sector contributed 279.737 million shares worth N3.947 billion.
Top-performing equities included FCMB Group Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, and Universal Insurance Plc. Together, they accounted for 1.245 billion shares valued at N15.825 billion across 9,250 deals.
Investor appetite also extended to Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), with 442,918 units valued at N25.223 million traded in 277 deals, compared to 134,289 units worth N15.363 million the previous week. The bond market saw a major uplift with 1.36 million units valued at N1.118 billion traded—up from 33,209 units worth N32.134 million.
All sectoral indices closed higher except for the NGX Insurance and NGX Oil & Gas indices, which declined by 1.22% and 0.48%, respectively. The NGX ASeM Index remained flat. Market breadth was slightly weaker, with 54 gainers compared to 60 the previous week. Forty-nine stocks lost value, up from 43 previously, while 43 equities closed flat.
UACN Plc led gainers with a 60.69% rise to N88.30, followed by Mecure Industries Plc (41.52%), Custodian Investment Plc (27.87%), and MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, which gained 20% to close at N480.00.
Abbey Mortgage Bank Plc topped the losers chart, dropping 34.13% to N5.27. FTN Cocoa Processors Plc, Cornerstone Insurance Plc, and NAHCO also recorded significant declines.
Seplat Energy Plc listed 11.5 million new shares, boosting its total shareholding to 599.94 million. Conversely, MRS Oil Nigeria Plc completed its voluntary delisting from the NGX.
Market analysts remain cautiously optimistic. The rally is expected to continue in the near term as investors await Q2 earnings reports. However, they caution that profit-taking may moderate the pace of gains.
With the N90 trillion mark now within touching distance, all eyes are on the NGX as it cements its position as one of Africa’s fastest-growing capital markets.