The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) witnessed yet another bullish performance on Thursday, with its market capitalisation crossing the N82 trillion mark, driven by rallies in heavyweight stocks, most notably Dangote Cement and BUA Cement, leading to a N833 billion gain for investors in the equities market.
This positive investor sentiment appears to be a direct reaction to recent disinflationary trends and a broader shift of funds from the fixed income market, extending the NGX’s winning streak to 11 consecutive sessions.
The Nigerian domestic market closed in the green, with key market performance indicators gaining 0.92 per cent. Despite a negative market breadth, which saw more declining stocks than advancing ones due to profit-taking in some recently appreciated shares, strong buying interest in blue-chip stocks like BUACEMENT, DANGCEM, and FIRSTHOLDCO proved sufficient to sustain the market’s bullish momentum. Stockbrokers noted that this renewed demand effectively wiped out any bearish sentiment during trading.
The benchmark All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 1,180.49 basis points, reaching a new all-time high of 130,147.57 points, reflecting the 0.92 per cent gain. However, overall market activity saw a notable dip, with total volume and total value of trades decreasing by 89.89 per cent and 88.36 per cent respectively. According to Atlass Portfolio Limited, approximately 1.18 billion units valued at N42.30 billion were transacted across 37,094 deals.
In terms of trading volume, ACCESSCORP led the chart, accounting for 14.13 per cent of the total volume, followed by FIRSTHOLDCO (7.26%), ZENITHBANK (7.00%), NB (5.76%), and AIICO (5.48%). In value terms, ZENITHBANK emerged as the most traded stock, contributing 14.73 per cent of the total value of trades.
The clear stars of the trading session were the cement behemoths. BUACEMENT topped the advancers’ chart with a 10.00 per cent price appreciation, closing at N112.20. Hot on its heels was DANGCEM, which gained 9.99 per cent, reaching N473.30. These gains underscored strong investor confidence in the industrial goods sector, which collectively grew by 9.08 per cent for the day, outperforming other sectors.
Other notable gainers included CHAMS (+9.96%), FIRSTHOLDCO (+9.94%), ABCTRANS (+9.85%), and EUNISELL (+9.76%), alongside twenty-three other stocks.
Despite the overall market increase, market breadth remained negative, with 46 stocks depreciating against 29 gainers. Top losers included HMCALL, MECURE, BERGER, JOHNHOLT, MAYBAKER, and RTBRISCOE, all shedding 10.00 per cent of their value. The sectoral performance also reflected this mixed sentiment, with the banking sector dropping by 2.34 per cent, insurance by 0.89 per cent, and oil & gas by 0.61 per cent. Only the industrial and consumer goods sectors ended in positive territory.
The sustained northward movement in Nigeria’s stock market is largely being attributed to recent positive economic indicators. Speculation surrounding a potential rate cut at the upcoming Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting next week, following the release of disinflationary figures, is particularly buoying investor sentiment.
Furthermore, investors are actively rerouting funds from the fixed income (FI) market into equities. The moderating rates of treasury bills (T-bills) are making equity investments comparatively more attractive. This dynamic, coupled with many investors positioning themselves ahead of the half-year (H1) earnings season in anticipation of interim dividend payments from regular companies, is driving the current bullish momentum.
The equities market has seen a substantial rise of 26.58 per cent year-to-date, primarily driven by strong performances in the consumer goods, banking, and insurance sectors, despite profit-taking observed in oil & gas stocks.
The positive trend continued into Thursday’s trading session, with investors in the Nigerian equities market gaining an additional N833 billion. This was propelled by increased share prices in heavyweights like BUA Cement Plc, Dangote Cement, and Chams Plc. The benchmark All-Share Index (ASI) climbed further to 130,283.86 points from 128,967.08 points recorded the previous day, pushing the equity capitalisation to N82.4 trillion from Wednesday’s N81.5 trillion.
Thursday’s trading also saw a negative market breadth, with 30 stocks advancing, 46 declining, and 67 remaining unchanged across 37,418 deals. BUA Cement Plc and Dangote Cement once again led the gainers, with 10% and 9.99% growth respectively, closing at N112.20 and N473.30.
On the volume index for Thursday, Access Holdings Plc led trading with 168 million shares, followed by First Bank Holding Company with 86 million shares, and Zenith Bank Plc with 83 million shares. In terms of value, Zenith Bank Plc traded stocks worth N6.2 billion, followed by Nigerian Breweries Plc at N5.0 billion, and Access Holdings Plc at N4.6 billion.
