The Nigerian equities market delivered robust returns last week, as investors gained ₦1.14 trillion driven by strong bargain hunting in four of the five trading sessions. The market sustained its bullish trajectory, with the All-Share Index climbing 1.80% week-on-week to close at 105,451.06 points.
This performance builds on a stellar year-to-date return of 37.65% as of 2024, well above the 34.60% inflation rate recorded in November 2024, according to Cowry Asset Limited.
The rally was fueled by investor optimism about Nigeria’s macroeconomic outlook and positioning ahead of Q4 2024 unaudited financial results. Banking stocks led the charge, attracting significant investor interest.
The market capitalization of all listed stocks rose by 1.80% week-on-week to ₦64.30 trillion, up from ₦63.17 trillion the previous week. This translates to a remarkable ₦1.14 trillion gain, achieved during four bullish trading sessions.
Data from the Nigerian Exchange showed 51 stocks gaining while 39 declined. The index’s year-to-date return improved to 2.45%. Trading activity was robust, with the average weekly volume of shares traded rising by 79.5% to 4.7 billion units. The value of transactions increased by 21.9% to ₦85.04 billion, while the total number of deals surged by 51.3% to 72,560.
Sectoral performance was mixed, with the banking index emerging as the sole gainer, up 1.94% week-on-week, driven by positive movements in WEMABANK, FBNH, FCMB, and GTCO. Conversely, the insurance index led decliners, down 6.91% due to losses in SUNUASSURANCE, CONHALLPLC, PRESTIGE, and CORNERSTONE.
Other sectors recorded marginal losses: the consumer goods and oil & gas indices fell by 0.34%, weighed down by declines in GUINNESS, OANDO, and INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES, while the industrial index shed 0.26% due to losses in CAVERTON, RTBRISCOE, and UPDC.
Top-performing stocks included MULTIVERSE (+53.4%), HONYFLOUR (+31.7%), DAARCOMM (+25.7%), MTNN (+21%), and NCR (+20.7%), supported by strong investor demand. On the flip side, SUNUASSURANCE (-36.5%), CAVERTON (-15%), CONHALLPLC (-15%), RTBRISCOE (-14.3%), and JAIZBANK (-10.8%) were the worst performers due to sell-offs.
