Onome Amuge
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) experienced a buoyant trading session on Tuesday, with its market capitalisation surpassing the N70 trillion mark for the first time, reaching a historical high. Equities investors reaped gains of N1.04 trillion as the market closed in positive territory, extending its previous session’s rally and pushing key performance indicators up by 1.50 per cent.
The bullish sentiment was predominantly driven by sustained buying interest in medium and large-cap stocks, most notably AIRTELAFRI, NAHCO, and ARADEL. Data from the Nigerian Exchange revealed that the All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 1,653.10 basis points, closing at a new all-time high of 111,606.22 points.
Despite the strong positive movement in market value, overall market activities saw a slight downturn. The total volume of trades decreased by 1.19 per cent, while the total value of trades reduced by 11.04 per cent. Market data indicated that approximately 409.57 million units valued at N9,869.95 million were transacted across 15,992 deals.
In terms of trading volume, CUSTODIAN led the activity chart, accounting for 9.23 per cent of total trades, followed by FIDELITYBK (9.08%), VERITASKAP (8.10%), ZENITHBANK (6.74%), and ACCESSCORP (5.82%). In value terms, GTCO emerged as the most traded stock, representing 15.95 per cent of the total value of trades conducted on the exchange.
Airtel Africa leads advancers amidst share buyback
Telecommunications giant Airtel Africa Plc was a major contributor to the market’s rally, with its share price soaring by 10.00 per cent to N2,372.50. This appreciation propelled its market value above N8.9 trillion, breaching its previous 52-week high and establishing a new historical position on the local bourse. The rare price movement saw 104,176 shares of Airtel Africa valued at N247.157 million exchange hands. The increase lifted the market value of Airtel Africa’s 3,758,151,504 outstanding shares to N8.916 trillion, according to data from the Nigerian Bourse.
The telecom company also announced it had purchased 100,000 units of its ordinary shares of USD 0.50 each from Barclays Capital Securities Limited at an average price of 179.78 pence. This buy-back was conducted pursuant to the authority granted by its shareholders as part of its ongoing share buy-back programme. Following this transaction, the remaining ordinary shares of $0.50 each in issue will be 3,669,442,413, including 7,489,044 treasury shares. Consequently, the total number of voting rights in the company stands at 3,661,953,369.
Since the commencement of the first tranche of its $100 million share buy-back programme, announced on December 23, 2024, Airtel has purchased an aggregate of 27,363,335 ordinary shares at a volume-weighted average price of 136.7128 GBp per ordinary share.
Sectoral performance, market breadth
Overall, the market breadth closed positive, with 35 gainers outpacing 21 losers. AIRTELAFRI topped the advancers’ chart with its 10.00 per cent price appreciation, followed by OMATEK (+9.23%), CORNERST (+8.63%), NAHCO (+8.39%), UPL (+6.47%), and MANSARD (+5.88%), among others.
Conversely, twenty-one stocks depreciated, led by MCNICHOLS with a price decline of -9.80 per cent. Other notable decliners included CHAMPION (-7.38%), JAIZBANK (-4.46%), CADBURY (-4.45%), STERLINGNG (-3.08%), and JAPAULGOLD (-1.00%).
All market sectors ended the day in positive territory. The Insurance sector led the gains, growing by 2.23 per cent, followed by the Banking sector, which appreciated by 0.84 per cent. The Oil & Gas sector climbed by 0.76 per cent, the Industrial sector rose by 0.46 per cent, and the Consumer Goods sector grew by 0.13 per cent.
The strong performance across key sectors ultimately contributed to the N1.042 trillion gain in the equities market, pushing its total valuation to a new record of N70.38 trillion.
