NGX Weekly Market Report: Market Declines Amid Easter Holidays, Cautious Investor Sentiment
The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) recorded a bearish performance in the holiday-shortened trading week, as market activities were limited to four days following the Federal Government’s declaration of Friday, April 18 and Monday, April 21, 2025 as public holidays in observance of the Easter celebration.
The NGX All-Share Index (NGXASI) declined by 0.32% to close at 104,223.81 points, compared to 104,563.34 points recorded in the previous week. The market downturn was driven by investor caution, profit-taking following the latest inflation report, and pre-holiday liquidity withdrawals. Consequently, the market capitalization dipped by ₦207.07 billion, settling at ₦65.50 trillion. Year-to-date return moderated to 1.27%.
Despite the shortened trading week, investors exchanged a total of 1.53 billion shares worth ₦43.01 billion in 51,156 deals on the floor of the Exchange. This compares with 2.09 billion shares valued at ₦52.97 billion traded in 64,612 deals the previous week.
The Financial Services sector led the activity chart by volume, accounting for 1.12 billion shares valued at ₦24.02 billion in 28,818 deals — contributing 73.56% and 55.84% to the total equity turnover volume and value, respectively. The ICT sector followed with 101.25 million shares worth ₦4.82 billion in 2,541 deals, while the Services sector recorded a turnover of 99.78 million shares worth ₦1.23 billion in 3,063 deals.
Top traded equities by volume were Access Holdings Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, and Universal Insurance Plc, which altogether accounted for 448.11 million shares worth ₦6.73 billion in 6,481 deals. These represented 29.39% and 15.65% of the total equity turnover volume and value, respectively.
Sectoral Performance:
Performance across sectors was mixed. The Banking and Insurance indices declined by 5.43% and 2.34% week-on-week, respectively, due to notable losses in GTCO (-13.2%), ZENITHBANK (-11.9%), UBA (-9.1%), MBENEFIT (-9.6%), and SUNUASSUR (-9.1%). On the other hand, the Consumer Goods and Oil & Gas indices recorded gains of 2.33% and 0.20%, respectively, buoyed by price appreciation in NB (+13.1%), UNILEVER (+9.7%), OANDO (+2.6%), and ETERNA (+2.2%). The Industrial Goods index closed flat.
Market Breadth:
Investor sentiment showed mild improvement. A total of thirty-one (31) equities appreciated in price during the week, up from twenty-seven (27) in the prior week. Meanwhile, forty-four (44) equities recorded price declines, compared to fifty-six (56) in the previous week. Seventy-two (72) equities remained unchanged, higher than sixty-four (64) recorded earlier.
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