Investors in the Nigerian equities market recorded a substantial wealth increase of ₦4.08 trillion—equivalent to roughly $3 billion—over the past trading week, as renewed buying interest and sharp price rallies in select stocks lifted overall market performance.
The domestic bourse extended its bullish momentum, supported by heightened trading activity and improving investor sentiment, with stocks such as RTBRISCOE and ZICHIS posting gains of more than 60% during the period.
By the close of trading, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) All-Share Index (ASI) advanced to 171,727.49 points, reflecting a week-on-week increase of 3.84% and reinforcing confidence in the broader market outlook.
As a result, total market capitalization rose in tandem, climbing by 3.84% to ₦110.23 trillion from ₦106.15 trillion in the previous week. The increase represents a net addition of approximately ₦4.08 trillion in market value.
The strong rally pushed the NGX’s year-to-date return to 10.93%, positioning the market ahead of the release of Nigeria’s January inflation figures.
Market breadth remained firmly positive, with gainers significantly outnumbering losers. According to Cowry Asset Management Limited, 70 stocks closed higher during the week, compared with 34 decliners, resulting in a breadth ratio of 2.06x and signaling broad-based investor participation.
Trading statistics also reflected heightened market activity, as total deals, traded volume, and traded value increased by 8.23%, 25.08%, and 58.12%, respectively, on a week-on-week basis.
In total, 3.86 billion shares valued at ₦128.99 billion were exchanged across 240,364 deals, underscoring growing confidence among market participants.
Sectoral performance was largely positive, with most indices finishing the week in the green despite isolated bouts of profit-taking. The Oil and Gas sector emerged as the top performer, rising by 10.88%, driven by strong gains in heavyweight counters such as Aradel and Seplat.
The Commodities sector followed closely, advancing by 6.30%, while the Consumer Goods and Industrial Goods sectors recorded solid gains of 4.40% and 4.36%, respectively.
Cowry Asset noted that consumer-facing stocks benefited from price stability and selective accumulation, particularly in Union Dicon and Nascon. In the industrial segment, bargain-hunting activity was evident in names such as Austinlaz, Berger, and Prempaints.
Banking stocks also sustained their positive momentum, with the sector posting a 3.57% gain for the week. Increased buying interest in FirstHoldco and Stanbic IBTC Holdings supported the sector’s advance, reflecting investor preference for fundamentally resilient financial institutions.
In contrast, the Insurance sector underperformed, declining by 2.33% amid continued profit-taking in stocks such as Cornerstone Insurance and Sunu Assurances.
On an individual stock basis, RTBRISCOE led the gainers’ table with a 60.7% appreciation, followed closely by ZICHIS (+60.4%), ABBEYBDS (+59.0%), UNIONDICON (+49.1%), and AUSTINLAZ (+38.5%), largely on the back of aggressive accumulation.
Meanwhile, DEAP Capital Management & Trust (-27.4%), UHOMREIT (-27.0%), Red Star Express (-17.5%), UPDC REIT (-12.3%), and Cornest (-12.2%) recorded the steepest losses, reflecting sustained selling pressure in those counters.
Looking ahead, Cowry Asset expressed optimism about the near-term outlook for the equities market, citing improving market breadth, elevated trading volumes, and continued interest in fundamentally sound stocks.
The firm noted that broad-based sectoral gains and strong participation suggest investor sentiment remains constructive, particularly in sectors benefiting from earnings releases and valuation-driven buying opportunities.
