NGX hits N154.5trn market cap, delivers 53.7% return YTD

…Banking stocks lead rally as market defies negative breadth

The Nigerian equities market sustained its upward trajectory on Thursday, with the market capitalisation rising to N154.47 trillion as investors continued to push the benchmark index higher, lifting the year-to-date return to 53.72 per cent.

The NGX All-Share Index (ASI) gained 0.22 per cent to close at 239,204.81 points, compared with the previous session, while market capitalisation increased by the same margin.

The latest performance reinforces the strong gains recorded on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) this year, despite intermittent profit-taking and mixed investor sentiment across sectors.

The market’s positive close was driven principally by gains in major stocks, including First HoldCo, UBA and GTCO. First HoldCo emerged as one of the strongest performers, gaining 4.65 per cent, while UBA rose 3.74 per cent and GTCO advanced 0.31 per cent.

However, the rally came against a backdrop of weak market breadth, underscoring the uneven nature of the gains.

A total of 39 stocks declined, compared with only 20 advancers, leaving the market breadth ratio at 0.51x.

FIDSON emerged as the session’s biggest loser, shedding 9.98 per cent, followed by NEM, which declined 7.19 per cent, while Nestlé lost 0.35 per cent.

At the other end of the spectrum, OMATEK led the gainers with a 9.60 per cent increase.

Trading activity was mixed during the session. Total volume traded fell sharply by 33.27 per cent to 489.34 million shares, while transaction value increased by 1.18 per cent to N34.93 billion.

Zenith Bank dominated trading activity by volume, with 69.95 million shares changing hands. The bank also topped the value chart, accounting for transactions valued at approximately N8.20 billion.

The financial services sector remained the dominant force in the market, recording 413.56 million shares traded, valued at about N18.0 billion.

The oil and gas sector followed with 18.39 million shares, while ICT stocks recorded 17.61 million shares in turnover.

Sectoral performance was mixed. The Banking Index gained 1.58 per cent on the day and has now risen 64.04 per cent year-to-date, making it one of the major drivers of the broader market’s performance.

The Industrial Index remained flat on the day but has surged 82.84 per cent year-to-date, while the Oil and Gas Index slipped 0.07 per cent, despite maintaining a strong 85.42 per cent year-to-date gain.

Consumer goods stocks declined 0.20 per cent during the session and have gained only 1.13 per cent year-to-date.

The insurance sector remained the major laggard, falling 9.97 per cent year-to-date, despite a marginal 0.03 per cent daily gain.

Market analysts said the latest figures reflected continued investor interest in selected large-cap stocks, particularly banking and industrial counters, even as profit-taking pressures persisted in parts of the market.

The strong year-to-date performance also comes amid continued investor reassessment of Nigerian equities following reforms across the banking, energy and broader macroeconomic environment.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) recorded a 0.37 per cent appreciation in the naira, with the exchange rate closing at N1,338.59/$1.

The combination of naira stability and strong equity-market performance could further influence investor positioning, particularly as institutional investors continue to weigh returns across equities, fixed income and foreign-exchange assets.

With the NGX now delivering more than 53 per cent in year-to-date gains, attention is increasingly shifting to whether the market can sustain its rally through the final months of the year, particularly against the backdrop of elevated valuations, profit-taking and uneven sectoral performance.