Investors Gain N348bn as Nigerian Stock Market Records Bullish Week

Samuel Mobolaji

The Nigerian stock market posted a solid performance last week, resulting in a significant gain of N348 billion for investors.

The All-Share Index (ASI) climbed by 0.63 per cent week-on-week (W-O-W) to close at 96,579.54 points, while the market capitalization of listed equities expanded to N55.478 trillion.

Bullish sentiment dominated across various sectors, with the NGX Oil & Gas and NGX Insurance indices leading the charge. The NGX Oil & Gas index surged by 8.55 per cent, while the NGX Insurance index posted a strong gain of 6.10 per cent.

Other sectors also performed well, with the NGX Consumer Goods index increasing by 3.5 per cent, the NGX Banking index rising by 1.60 per cent, and the NGX Industrial Goods index edging up by 0.04 per cent.

Market breadth was positive, as 56 equities appreciated in price, compared to 26 equities that declined, while 69 equities remained unchanged. Oando led the gainers, with its share price soaring by 60.71 per cent to close at N76.90 per share. Deap Capital Management & Trust and McNichols followed, with impressive gains of 57.14 per cent and 56.57 per cent, respectively, closing at 88 kobo and N1.55 per share.

On the decliners’ side, Transcorp Power topped the list, with its share price falling by 9.99 per cent to close at N335.20 per share. MTN Nigeria Communications recorded a 9.91 per cent decrease to N180.00 per share, while University Press saw a decline of 9.45 per cent, closing at N2.30 per share.

The overall trading activity on the Exchange was strong, with a total turnover of 2.821 billion shares worth N53.048 billion executed in 50,488 deals. This represented a rise from the previous week’s turnover of 5.641 billion shares valued at N33.052 billion in 42,006 deals.

The Financial Services Industry led in trading volume, contributing 1.857 billion shares worth N15.825 billion across 19,937 deals, accounting for 65.82 per cent of the total equity turnover volume and 29.83 per cent of the total value. Following closely was the Oil and Gas Industry, with 288.807 million shares valued at N11.302 billion traded in 9,365 deals, while the Services Industry recorded 177.666 million shares worth N437.174 million in 3,604 deals.

The top three equities by volume were Consolidated Hallmark Holdings, Veritas Kapital Assurance, and Access Holdings, which collectively traded 862.499 million shares valued at N3.795 billion in 3,511 deals. These accounted for 30.57 per cent of the total equity turnover volume and 7.15 per cent of the total value.

The market’s robust performance last week, highlighted by gains across multiple sectors and increased trading activity, underscores investor confidence and the resilience of the Nigerian stock market.

Commenting on the weekly trading activities on the NGX, the chief operating officer of InvestData Consulting Limited stated that, “portfolio repositioning is however continuing, with investors taking advantage of pullbacks to buy into value.

“This is amid the volatility and pullbacks that add more strength to upside potential. Consequently, investors should take advantage of price correction. Also looking at the trends and events across the globe and domestically.”

Looking ahead to the new week, analysts at Cowry Assets Management Limited said: “it is expected that the prevailing market sentiment will continue to dominate the local bourse, with position-taking and portfolio reshuffling likely to intensify ahead of the September trading month.

“From a technical perspective, the NGX is showing signs of recovery, as indicated by the candlestick formations and momentum indicators, with equity investors poised to capitalise on pullbacks to acquire value stocks. Nevertheless, we continue to advise investors to focus on fundamentally sound stocks.”