Onome Amuge
Nigeria’s equity market opened the week on a positive note, buoyed by bargain-hunting in blue-chip and mid-tier counters, as investors added more than N284 billion to the value of listed companies on Monday.
The benchmark Nigerian Exchange All-Share Index (NGX ASI) advanced by 0.30 per cent to close at 141,433.41 points, extending the market’s year-to-date return to 37.41 per cent. Total market capitalisation rose by N284.44 billion to N89.49 trillion, reflecting a rebound following a patchy performance in the preceding week.
Investor sentiment was broadly constructive, with market breadth skewed decisively to the upside as 39 stocks gained while 17 declined, and 80 closed unchanged across 33,342 deals. The breadth ratio (an indicator of advancing versus declining issues) underscored the strength of the rally, which analysts attributed to renewed appetite for undervalued equities and a fresh listing in the infrastructure segment.
Although headline indices pointed northwards, underlying market activity was mixed. Trading volume fell sharply by 54.63 per cent to 591.25 million units, while market turnover by value tumbled 75.63 per cent to N11.66 billion, indicating that Monday’s rally was more price-driven than volume-led. The number of executed deals, however, climbed 28.65 per cent to 33,342, showcasing higher trading intensity even as fewer shares changed hands.
The day’s performance was headlined by outsized gains in Julius Berger Nigeria Plc (JBERGER) and Cutix Plc (CUTIX), both of which rallied nearly 10 per cent each to top the gainers’ chart.
The construction and engineering group jumped 9.93 per cent to close at N146.10 from a previous N132.90 per share. The move lifted the stock to its highest level in months, as investors rotated into infrastructure-linked names amid expectations of increased capital spending and public-private partnerships.
Cutix, a cable and wire manufacturer, gained 9.86 per cent to N3.90 from N3.55, on the back of strong interest from domestic institutional investors. Market participants said the company’s consistent dividend policy and exposure to Nigeria’s power transmission upgrade plans had made it a defensive play in the industrials segment.
Regal Insurance Plc (REGALINS) followed closely with a 9.70 per cent gain to N1.47, as the insurance sector posted the best sectoral return of the day.
The rally in JBERGER and CUTIX came alongside gains in other mid-cap counters such as Veritas Kapital Assurance (+9.60 per cent), McNichols (+9.38 per cent), and NEM Insurance (+8.83 per cent), signalling broader appetite for second-tier plays.
Performance across sectors was largely supportive. The banking index climbed 1.12 per cent, buoyed by gains in tier-1 lenders, while the insurance sector rose 3.81 per cent on strong momentum in mid-cap insurers.
The consumer goods sector advanced 0.29 per cent, and the industrial index closed marginally higher at +0.02 per cent, reflecting the weight of JBERGER’s move. However, oil and gas stocks slipped 0.31 per cent, while the commodity index retreated 0.30 per cent, as investors took profits in energy-linked names.
Analysts noted that sectoral divergence was to be expected in a market still digesting macroeconomic headwinds ranging from inflationary pressures to foreign exchange volatility.
In volume terms, First City Monument Bank Plc (FCMB) led the activity chart with 105 million shares traded in 1,144 deals, representing 17.92 per cent of the day’s total volume. Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc (VERITASKAP) followed with 59 million units (10.15 per cent of volume), while Universal Insurance Plc (UNIVINSURE) traded 34 million shares (5.86 per cent).
Other notable volume drivers included AIICO Insurance and Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO), which accounted for 4.47 per cent and 4.26 per cent of total volume respectively.
On the value side, GTCO was the standout, trading N2.3 billion worth of shares across 1,292 deals, equivalent to 21.43 per cent of total value traded. Aradel Holdings Plc (ARADEL) ranked second with N1.3 billion, followed by FCMB with N1.1 billion.
The heavy concentration of value in GTCO underscored sustained institutional interest in the banking major, despite only modest price changes on the day.
On the other side of the ledger, University Press Plc (UPL) led the laggards with a 9.92 per cent drop to N5.54 from N6.15, amid thin liquidity and profit-taking. Cadbury Nigeria Plc (CADBURY) fell 9.61 per cent to N57.85, extending a recent run of declines attributed to margin pressures in the consumer staples segment.
Abbey Mortgage Bank Plc (ABBEYBDS) declined 8.39 per cent to N6.55, while Austin Laz & Co (AUSTINLAZ) and Tantalizer Plc also featured among the top losers with respective drops of 6.55 per cent and 5.66 per cent.
Market analysts said most of the decliners were reacting to stock-specific news or rebalancing flows, rather than broad-based negative sentiment.
The modest divergence between the ASI and the growth in market capitalisation was partly attributable to the listing of 270,382 additional units of Chapel Hill Denham’s Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund (NIDF) on the daily official list of the exchange. The listing, which enhanced the float of the closed-end fund, contributed to the uptick in overall market value even as trading turnover lagged.
NIDF, one of the few listed infrastructure-focused funds in the Nigerian market, has been touted as a template for mobilising domestic institutional capital into long-tenor infrastructure projects.
With Monday’s rally breaking a short losing streak, dealers said the tone for the rest of the week would depend on macroeconomic data releases, central bank liquidity operations, and earnings guidance from bellwether corporates.
Despite the day’s low trading volume, the resilience of the index and strong performance of top gainers showed that investor positioning was shifting back toward risk assets, particularly in infrastructure, insurance, and manufacturing-linked names.
