Onome Amuge
The Nigerian equities market maintained a strong bullish trajectory for the week, with the benchmark NGX All-Share Index climbing 2.57 per cent to close at 114,616.75 points ahead of the Eid al-Adha (Sallah) holiday. The positive momentum, which saw gains in all four trading sessions, was underpinned by renewed investor interest across key sectors, including financial services, energy, telecommunications, and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG).
The rally was largely attributed to portfolio rebalancing at the start of the new trading month, buoyed by tailwinds from the earnings season and a recent Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) report, which signalled renewed resilience within the Nigerian economy. Reflecting this optimism, market capitalisation expanded by N1.81 trillion to N72.28 trillion, mirroring the 2.57 per cent weekly gain.
Market internals remained steady, with 53 stocks advancing against 43 decliners, yielding a positive market breadth of 1.23x. Consequently, the year-to-date (YTD) return for the benchmark index strengthened to 11.36 per cent, as investors continued to build exposure to sectors poised to benefit from both cyclical and structural tailwinds.
Despite the bullish sentiment, trading activity moderated during the week. Total deals declined by 28.7 per cent week-on-week to 63,763 transactions, indicating a more calculated approach by investors amid profit-taking and holiday-shortened trading. Similarly, total traded volume fell by 15.6 per cent to 3.19 billion units, while the total value of trades decreased by 37.2 per cent to N74.88 billion.
These figures, analysts noted, indicate a rally driven more by selective accumulation rather than broad-based, high-volume buying, a pattern often observed during the early stages of sectoral repositioning.
All major sector indices closed in positive territory, reaffirming broad-based investor appetite. The NGX Banking Index led the charge with a 4.69 per cent gain, buoyed by strong performances from ACCESSCORP, WEMABANK, GTCO, and FIRSTHOLDCO. The Insurance Index rose 3.36 per cent, lifted by LASACO, WAPIC, GUINEA INSURANCE, and CORNERSTONE. The Oil & Gas Index advanced by 3.33 per cent on the back of sharp upticks in OANDO and JAPAULGOLD.
Elsewhere, the Consumer Goods Index gained 2.33 per cent week-on-week, driven by price gains in MAYBAKER, FIDSON, INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES, and GUINNESS. The Industrial Goods Index also edged higher by 1.18 per cent, thanks to renewed interest in DANGOTE CEMENT, BERGER PAINTS, and LAFARGE AFRICA. Meanwhile, the NGX Commodities Index posted a 0.72 per cent weekly gain, led by stocks such as MULTIVERSE and ARADEL.
Top-performing equities for the week included OANDO (+25.8%), LASACO (+21.6%), MULTIVERSE (+20.4%), CORNERSTONE (+19.5%), and FIRSTHOLDCO (+17.6%), reflecting a mix of recovery plays and speculative momentum.
On the flipside, ABCTRANS declined the most, shedding 18.6%, followed by JULIUS BERGER (-13.5%), LEGEND INTERNET (-13.3%), LIVESTOCK (-12.2%), and ETRANZACT (-11.8%), as profit-taking set in across selected counters.
Looking ahead, analysts at Cowry Research anticipate the prevailing bullish trend to persist in the near term as investors continue to realign portfolios in anticipation of further earnings releases and macroeconomic data, particularly Nigeria’s Q1 2025 GDP numbers. They suggest that the sustained market momentum is likely to be driven by a combination of sectoral rotation strategies and positive sentiment surrounding the resilience of the domestic economy. However, trading activity may remain moderate as some players adopt a cautious stance ahead of fresh catalysts.
“We maintain our guidance for investors to stay positioned in fundamentally strong counters with solid earnings prospects and defensive characteristics, particularly in light of macroeconomic uncertainty and evolving liquidity dynamics,” Cowry Research noted.
