Equity Investors Gain N10.7trn, YTD Return Nears 56%
Pushing year-to-date return (YTD) near 56%, equity investors gained about N10.7 trillion, trading at highs and lows on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) over the last five trading sessions, amid first quarter 2026 earnings announcements.
Last week, the local bourse ended activities on a strong note, extending its bullish momentum as gains in key stocks drove overall performance.
The benchmark NGX All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 7.33% week-on-week to settle at 242,277.81 points, while market capitalisation increased by the same margin to ₦155.99 trillion, representing a gain of approximately ₦10.66 trillion.
Bargain hunting pushed NGX’s year-to-date return to 55.69%, reflecting sustained positive investor sentiment and providing a hedge against the inflation surge.
Stockbrokers reported that market breadth weakened slightly, closing negative at 0.89x, with 47 gainers against 53 decliners, indicating mild, selective buying across the bourse.
Trading activity remained robust during the week, with the number of deals, volume traded, and total value traded rising by 11.90%, 27.25%, and 34.30% week-on-week, respectively.
According to market data, investors traded 4.84 billion shares valued at ₦287.99 billion across 333,484 deals, underscoring heightened market participation.
Sectoral performance was broadly positive, as the Oil & Gas, Industrial Goods, Commodities, and Consumer Goods indices advanced by 14.37%, 14.11%, 11.13%, and 3.07% week-on-week, respectively.
In contrast, the Banking and Insurance sectors declined by 5.48% and 0.83%, respectively. On the gainers’ chart, ZICHIS led with a 26.9% increase, followed by TIP (+21.1%), ARADEL (+18.4%), WAPCO (+18.3%), and UACN (+16.2%), driven largely by strong buying interest.
Conversely, UBA (-20.0%), TRANSEXPR (-19.0%), ACCESSCORP (-16.9%), DEAPCAP (-15.7%), and HMCALL (- 13.6%) topped the losers’ list, reflecting profit-taking and sustained selling pressure.
Looking ahead, the Nigerian equities market is expected to maintain its positive bias, supported by sustained investor interest in fundamentally sound and large-cap stocks, Cowry Asset Management Limited said in an update
The investment firm said the recent strong rally may trigger intermittent profit-taking, particularly in stocks that have posted significant price gains over recent sessions.
“Market direction will likely be influenced by portfolio rebalancing activities, liquidity conditions, and investor positioning ahead of macroeconomic developments.
“While sectoral rotation may persist, especially toward fundamentally driven counters, overall sentiment is expected to remain cautiously optimistic.
“Accordingly, we anticipate a mixed trading pattern in the near term, with pockets of buying interest underpinning the market, albeit with increased volatility as investors balance profit-taking with selective bargain hunting”, Cowry Asset stated.
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