Equities Investors Gain $3bn in Nigerian Stock Market
Equities investors in the Nigerian stock market saw an increase of N4.08 trillion, approximately $3 billion, during a weekly surge driven by RTBRISCOE and Zichis, both of which experienced price gains exceeding 60%.
The local bourse was on a bull run, extending its winning streak amid heightened trading activity and strengthening investor sentiment.
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) All-Share Index (ASI) settled at 171,727.49 points, posting a week-on-week gain of 3.84% and underscoring sustained market confidence.
Hence, market capitalization increased by 3.84% to N110.23 trillion from N106.15 trillion in the previous week, translating to an approximate N4.08 trillion increase in market value.
The positive price movement drove the NGX year-to-date return to 10.93% ahead of the country’s inflation data for January.
Market breadth remained strongly positive at 2.06x, with 70 gainers outweighing 34 decliners, reflecting broad-based investor participation, investment firm Cowry Asset Management Limited said in a note.
Stockbrokers reported that trading activity was robust, as total deals, traded volume, and traded value rose by 8.23%, 25.08%, and 58.12%, respectively, week-on-week.
By the close of the week, investors exchanged a total of 3.86 billion shares valued at N128.99 billion across 240,364 deals, highlighting heightened confidence in the equities market.
Sectoral performance for the week reflected a broadly positive market tone, with most indices closing in the green despite pockets of profit-taking.
The Oil and Gas sector led overall gains, rising 10.88% week on week, followed by the Commodities sector with 6.30%, supported by strong price appreciation in key counters such as Aradel and Seplat.
The Consumer Goods and Industrial Goods sectors also delivered solid performances, advancing 4.40% and 4.36% respectively.
Cowry Asset reported that consumer names benefited from price stability and selective accumulation, particularly in Union Dicon and Nascon. At the same time, the industrial space saw bargain-hunting in stocks such as Austinlaz, Berger, and Prempaints.
Banking stocks extended their positive momentum, with the sector gaining 3.57% over the week. Renewed buying interest in FirstHoldco and Stanbic supported the advance, reflecting continued investor focus on fundamentally resilient financial names.
In contrast, the Insurance sector was the lone laggard, declining 2.33% as profit-taking persisted in Cornerstone and Sunu Assurances.
On a stock-specific basis, RTBRISCOE topped the gainers’ chart with a 60.7% appreciation, followed by ZICHIS (+60.4%), ABBEYBDS (+59.0%), UNIONDICON (+49.1%), and AUSTINLAZ (+38.5%), largely driven by strong accumulation interest.
On the downside, DEAPCAP (-27.4%), UHOMREIT (-27.0%), REDSTAREX (-17.5%), UPDCREIT (-12.3%), and CORNEST (-12.2%) recorded the steepest losses, reflecting sustained selling pressure in these stocks.
“In the near term, we expect the Nigerian equities market to maintain a positive bias, supported by sustained investor interest in fundamentally strong stocks and improving market breadth.
“Elevated trading activity and broad-based sectoral gains suggest that sentiment remains constructive, particularly in sectors benefiting from earnings releases and valuation-driven accumulation”, Cowry Asset told investors. CBN Cuts 1-Year Treasury Bill Rate by 138bps, Rejects Bids
