GTCO, Zenith, UBA Boost Banking Index, Investors Eye Earnings
High-cap banking stocks: GTCO, Zenith Bank, and UBA drove momentum in the Nigerian market on Wednesday as investors anticipate strong earnings and dividends payments sustainability for Tier-1 names.
Investors raked in shares of the top lenders with a strong probability of dividend payments while the markets await their earnings for the financial year 2025.
The momentum was further bolstered by pension funds moving into risky assets following the recent regulatory adjustments. Top-tier 1 banks with a dividend history were key targets, while the market also recorded significant interest in other sectoral indexes.
On Wednesday, the Nigerian equity market closed the session on a bullish note, with the NGX All-Share Index and Market Capitalization both rising by 0.78%.
The index gained 1,374.93 points to close at 178,184.35, while market capitalization increased by ₦880.34 billion to ₦114.38 trillion.
The rally was driven by sustained positive sentiment and bargain hunting in medium and large-cap stocks, particularly in names such as GTCO, ZENITHBANK, NESTLE, DANGSUGAR, and UBA, across major sectors.
Despite the price gains, trading activity weakened. Total volume traded declined by 27.9% and total value traded fell by 32.5%, with about 939.15 million shares valued at ₦34.0 billion exchanged across 61,279 deals.
Tantalizers was the most active stock by volume, followed by ACCESSCORP, CHAMS, JAPAULGOLD, and DEAPCAP, while ARADEL led by value traded.
Market breadth was positive, with 49 gainers versus 31 losers. CONHALL, FTGINSURE, NESTLE, and MEYER topped the gainers’ chart with +10% each, followed by CAP, ZICHIS, TANTALIZER, UNIONDICON, and ETRANZACT.
On the downside, HONYFLOUR led the losers, followed by NEIMETH, TRIPPLEGEE, RTBRISCOE, STERLINGNG, and UNIVINSURE.
Sectoral performance was broadly positive, led by Banking (+1.58%), Insurance (+1.53%), and Consumer Goods (+1.28%), while Oil & Gas was marginally higher. Industrial Goods was the only sector that closed slightly in the red. Nigerian Treasury Bill Yield Dips to 18.18% Ahead of Auction
