Key points
- The Nigerian Exchange Limited All-Share Index advanced by 2.27 per cent to close the week at 250,330.92 points.
- Total market capitalization rose by 2.13 per cent, closing at N160.444 trillion with equity investors gaining N3.350 trillion.
- Financial Services dominated trading activity, contributing 61.43 per cent of the total equity turnover volume.
- FBN Holdings Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc, and Chams Holding Company Plc emerged as the top three heavily traded equities.
- Market breadth finished positive as 74 equities advanced against 24 stocks that depreciated during the week’s trading.
Main Story
The Nigerian Exchange Limited All-Share Index and market capitalisation have risen by 2.27 per cent and 2.13 per cent, respectively, to close the week at 250,330.92 points and N160.444 trillion.
The performance report indicated that this compares with 244,775.83 points and N157.094 trillion recorded in the previous week. Analysis of market performance showed that investors gained N3.350 trillion as the market recorded three bullish sessions and two bearish sessions during the week, driven by strong buying interest in banking and technology shares.
The exchange reported that investors traded a total of 7.772 billion shares worth N374.040 billion in 402,945 deals on the floor of the Exchange.
This volume represents an increase against the 7.075 billion shares valued at N324.351 billion traded in 474,436 deals the previous week.
The Financial Services Industry dominated the activity chart with 4.774 billion shares valued at N196.352 billion, followed closely by the ICT and Services sectors, while the overall market breadth strengthened significantly with 74 equities advancing against 24 decliners.
The Issues
- Despite the broad equity market rally, investors trimmed exposure to downstream equities, dragging the NGX Oil and Gas Index down by 1.19 per cent.
- Market participation remains highly concentrated, with just three equities accounting for over 28 per cent of total turnover volume, exposing the wider exchange to liquidity imbalances.
- The drop in the total number of deals executed, even as total volume and value rose, indicates that institutional block trading overshadowed retail investor engagement.
What’s Being Said
- The NGX market report stated that “all other indices closed higher except the NGX Oil and Gas Index, NGX Sovereign Bond Index and NGX Commodity Index, which declined by 1.19 per cent, 0.08 per cent and 0.80 per cent, respectively.”
- “The Financial Services Industry dominated the activity chart with 4.774 billion shares valued at N196.352 billion traded in 153,515 deals,” the exchange noted regarding sectoral performance.
- The report confirmed that “trading in the top three equities, First HoldCo Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc and CHAMS Holding Company Plc, accounted for 2.195 billion shares worth N99.820 billion in 30,056 transactions.”
- “A total of 74 equities advanced during the week, higher than 69 recorded in the previous week,” the stock exchange statistics highlighted.
What’s Next
- Portfolio managers will monitor the sustainability of the banking sector rally as tier-one lenders continue to navigate recapitalization plans.
- The local bourse expects to see a rebalancing of portfolios at the turn of the new week as investors lock in profits from top gainers like Berger Paints and SCOA Nigeria.
- Regulatory authorities will track commodity trading volumes to reverse the marginal slide observed in the NGX Commodity Index.
Bottom Line
A robust institutional appetite for financial and tech stocks has pushed the NGX All-Share Index to 250,330.92 points, injecting N3.35 trillion into equity portfolios despite isolated profit-taking in the oil and gas sector.
