The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) closed the trading week on a high note, with market capitalisation expanding by a staggering N1.81 trillion to reach N85.06 trillion. The bullish sentiment was driven by bargain hunting, solid corporate earnings, and declining fixed-income yields, pushing the year-to-date return to 30.63%.
Analysts at Cowry Asset Management attributed the sharp rebound to the plunge in Treasury bill yields during the midweek Primary Market Auction, which encouraged a reallocation of funds toward equities. The Central Bank of Nigeria’s decision to maintain existing monetary policy parameters further sustained confidence in the stock market.
The NGX All-Share Index appreciated by 2.18% during the week, closing at 134,452.93 points. The surge reflected renewed buy-side activity as investors took positions in fundamentally sound stocks across various sectors.
Market breadth also stayed positive at 1.40x, with 60 stocks recording gains versus 43 decliners during the five-day trading stretch. This compares favorably to the previous week’s four-day session.
Despite the bullish trend, overall trading activity experienced a substantial drop. Volume of trades fell by 78.96%, while total turnover decreased by 77.65% to 3.68 billion units and N111.90 billion, respectively, from 17.49 billion units and N500.76 billion recorded the week before.
Analysts believe the sharp decline in activity was likely due to cautious moves by institutional investors as they prepare for month-end portfolio adjustments.
Sectoral indices also reflected strong bullish momentum, with all six major indexes closing in the green. The Industrial Goods Index and Insurance Index led with respective gains of 4.66% and 3.07%. These were driven by upticks in stocks like INTENEGINS, SOVRENINS, JBERGER, Lafarge Africa, and BUA Cement.
The Consumer Goods Index saw a 2.81% increase, followed by a 2.24% rise in the Commodity Index. The Banking and Oil & Gas sectors recorded gains of 1.84% and 0.87%, respectively, supported by interest in WEMABANK, OANDO, PRESCO, Dangote Sugar, Guinness, and Okomu Oil.
Top gainers of the week included The Initiates Plc (+60.8%), ACADEMY (+33.0%), Enamelware (+32.7%), WEMABANK (+23.6%), and PRESCO (+22.5%). On the other end, NSLTECH (-24.0%), OMATEK (-23.9%), MEYER (-21.4%), NEIMETH (-19.3%), and ABCTRANS (-18.8%) were the week’s major losers.
Looking forward, Cowry Asset anticipates a mixed performance in the new week, shaped by earnings announcements and possible profit-taking activity. “While some retracement is possible, fundamentally strong stocks will likely continue to attract investor interest, especially with the MPC maintaining monetary stability,” the firm said.
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