Nigerian Market Delivers 63.42% Return in 10 Months, Hits N165.5trn
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) delivered a 63.42% return year-to-date, with the local bourse’s market capitalisation reaching N165.51 trillion at the October close.
The equities market closed bullish last week, supported by renewed buying interest in selected stocks. The NGX All Share Index (ASI) advanced 2.86% week-on-week (WoW) to close at 254,299.49 points, while market capitalisation rose to about N165.51 trillion.
Consequently, the market’s year-to-date (YTD) return improved to 63.42%, extending its positive performance and reinforcing the strong gains recorded since the beginning of the year.
Stockbrokers said investor sentiment remained somewhat subdued, as market breadth closed negative with 33 gainers against 48 decliners, translating to a breadth ratio of 0.69x.
This indicates the benchmark’s advance was not broad-based, with gains concentrated in selected stocks while more equities recorded losses, Cowry Asset Limited said in its investors update.
Market analyst said the divergence between the ASI’s performance and market breadth suggests that appreciation in a few heavyweight counters played a significant role in lifting the overall index.
Meanwhile, trading activity improved significantly, reflecting stronger investor participation during the week. The number of deals, trading volume and transaction value rose by 10.93%, 328.53% and 475.76%, respectively.
Overall, investors exchanged 7.62 billion shares valued at N637.99 billion across 192,349 deals.
The sharp increase in both volume and transaction value points to heightened trading intensity, although negative market breadth suggests activity was not uniformly tilted toward buying.
Sectoral performance on the Nigerian Exchange closed the week on a mixed note, with the Industrial Goods sector emerging as the strongest performer, while the Banking sector recorded the steepest decline.
“The Industrial Goods Index advanced by 14.58%, largely driven by a strong rally in DANGCEM, which more than offset losses in AUSTINLAZ, TRIPPLEG and BUACEMENT.
The Oil & Gas sector also closed in positive territory, gaining 0.82%, supported by advances in ARADEL and ETERNA despite a decline in OANDO.
The performance of these two sectors suggests that buying interest remained concentrated in selected large-cap industrial and energy stocks, rather than reflecting a broad-based market rally.
On the downside, the Banking sector shed 3.42%, weighed by losses in FIRSTHOLDCO, GTCO and ZENITHBANK, which outweighed gains in ACCESSCORP and UBA.
The decline points to renewed profit-taking and cautious positioning in some of the market’s major banking stocks, despite pockets of buying interest across the sector.
The Insurance sector also weakened by 2.13%, reflecting declines in GUINEAINS, WAPIC and AIICO, despite notable gains in SOVRENINS and MBENEFIT.
The contrasting movements among insurance counters suggest investors remained selective, with gains in a few stocks insufficient to offset the sector’s overall decline.
The Consumer Goods sector recorded a marginal decline of 0.02%, as losses in CHAMPION, CADBURY and NB offset gains in HONYFLOUR, PZ and MULTITREX.
Its near-flat performance suggests a broadly balanced trading session, with buying interest in selected stocks largely countered by profit-taking in others, Cowry Asset Limited said.
On the gainers’ chart, DANGCEM led the market with a 27.8% appreciation, followed by HONYFLOUR, which gained 26.0%. UPDCREIT, SOVRENINS and ETERNA also recorded gains of 20.6%, 20.5% and 9.9%, respectively.
Conversely, CAVERTON led the decliners with a 25.0% loss, followed by LIVESTOCK, which shed 22.0%. AUSTINLAZ, FIRSTHOLDCO and GUINEAINS also recorded declines of 17.5%, 17.3% and 17.2%, respectively, Cowry Asset said in its market update.
The investment firm expects the equities market to sustain a cautiously positive outlook in the coming week, supported by renewed buying interest in selected large-cap stocks and improved trading activity.
However, the negative market breadth and persistent weakness across key sectors suggest underlying investor caution, which could trigger intermittent profit-taking.
Cowry Asset Limited said, consequently, market performance is likely to remain selective, with investors focusing on fundamentally sound stocks and opportunities for capital appreciation
