The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) closed the week on a strong note, with total market capitalisation soaring by ₦1.18 trillion to reach ₦91.14 trillion at the end of Friday’s trading session.
The surge in portfolio value was attributed to renewed investor confidence and bargain hunting across key sectors of the market. Despite a marginal decline in the number of trades and overall transaction value, investor sentiment remained broadly bullish.
The All-Share Index (ASI) gained 1.02% week-on-week to close at 143,584.04 points, reflecting increased appetite for fundamentally strong equities. Market capitalisation climbed 1.31% following the listing of 14.14 billion ordinary shares of Wema Bank Plc, which added significant value to the bourse.
According to market analysts at Cowry Asset Management Limited, the ₦1.18 trillion rise underscored the market’s resilience and was bolstered by an impressive year-to-date return of 39.50%. The firm noted that sustained bullish momentum has been driven by investor confidence in Nigeria’s corporate fundamentals despite periodic profit-taking.
Market breadth stayed positive with 53 gainers against 43 decliners, yielding a ratio of 1.23x — a sign of cautious optimism among traders. Although the number of deals dipped slightly by 0.72% to 115,870, and transaction value dropped by 76.62% to ₦115.52 billion, traded volume rose by 9.35% to 8.40 billion units, indicating increased retail and mid-tier participation.
Sectoral performance was largely positive as five of the six major indices recorded weekly gains. The Oil & Gas index led the rally with a 5.68% rise, followed by the Commodities index (+2.94%), Industrial Goods (+1.66%), Banking (+1.17%), and Consumer Goods (+0.13%). The Insurance index was the sole laggard, shedding 2.02% due to profit-taking in select counters.
Among the week’s top-performing stocks, Eterna Plc led the pack with a 32.8% gain, followed by Enamelwa (+20.9%), PZ Cussons Nigeria (+20.9%), Livingtrust Mortgage Bank (+18.3%), and Eunisell (+17.6%).
Conversely, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc (Jberger) led the losers’ list, falling 17.8% week-on-week, while Intenegins (-11.1%), Union Dicon (-10.0%), Mansard Insurance (-10.0%), and UPL (-9.8%) also closed lower as investors shifted focus away from riskier counters.
Cowry Asset noted that the NGX is likely to sustain its upward trend in the coming week, supported by steady investor appetite for blue-chip stocks and strategic portfolio rebalancing ahead of the third-quarter 2025 earnings season.
The investment firm, however, cautioned that intermittent profit-taking and the reduction in block trades may cause short-term fluctuations, though overall sentiment remains positive due to robust year-to-date gains and broad-based sectoral growth.
