Nigerian Stock Market Expands to N158.51trn, Delivers 57.81% Return
The Nigerian stock market capitalisation rose to N158.51 trillion as the equities portfolio expanded by N187 billion last week, driven by sustained investor interest in risky assets.
The benchmark NGX All-Share Index (ASI) gained 0.12% week-on-week to close at 245,573.60 points, while market capitalisation increased by approximately N187 billion to N158.51 trillion.
Consequently, the market’s year-to-date return improved to 57.81%.
Stockbrokers reported that despite the positive performance of the benchmark index, market breadth remained negative, with 26 gainers against 63 losers, resulting in a market breadth ratio of 0.41x.
This reflects cautious investor sentiment, as declining stocks continued to outnumber advancing stocks throughout the week, investment firm Cowry Asset Management Limited told investors in an update.
Market activity weakened considerably, signalling lower investor participation. While the total value of transactions increased by 4.70% week-on-week to N139.17 billion, both trading volume and the number of deals declined by 65.64% and 8.19%, respectively.
In total, investors exchanged 5.34 billion shares valued at N139.17 billion across 262,224 deals, the investment firm reported.
Sectoral performance was mixed during the week as renewed buying interest in banking and consumer goods stocks offset weakness across the insurance, industrial goods, and oil & gas sectors.
The Banking Index emerged as the best-performing sector, advancing 2.33% on the back of sustained investor demand for FCMB, FIRSTHOLDCO, and ACCESSCORP.
Stockbrokers said the gains reflect continued investor optimism surrounding the sector’s strong earnings outlook and resilient profitability in the prevailing high interest rate environment.
The Consumer Goods Index followed with a 1.97% gain, supported by renewed buying interest in Vitafoam and NASCON, as investors selectively accumulated fundamentally sound stocks after recent price corrections.
In contrast, the Industrial Goods Index declined marginally by 0.17%, reflecting mild profit-taking in CAP following recent gains. The Oil & Gas Index also closed broadly flat, easing 0.02% as selective profit-taking offset buying interest in Oando and JapaulGold, resulting in muted overall sector performance.
The Insurance Index recorded the weakest performance during the week, declining 3.31% amid heightened selling pressure and profit-taking in Sovereign Trust Insurance (SOVRENINS), Consolidated Hallmark Holdings (CONHALL), and SUNU Assurances.
Overall, sectoral performance reflects a market characterised by selective positioning, with investors continuing to rotate into fundamentally strong sectors while locking in gains in stocks that have posted significant price appreciation in recent weeks.
Cowry Asset Limited explained that as the earnings season progresses, sector-specific corporate results and valuation considerations are expected to remain the key drivers of market direction.
On the gainers’ chart, AVACAP emerged as the best-performing stock with a 33.3% weekly gain. It was followed by FCMB (+13.1%), FIRSTHOLDCO (+12.2%), FTGINSURE (+11.1%), and LINKASSURE (+10.6%), driven by sustained buying interest across large-, mid-, and small-cap equities.
On the downside, THOMASWY led the losers after declining 26.7%, followed by TRANSEXPR (-23.8%), CMFC (-22.7%), ETI (-18.9%), and CONHALLPLC (- 16.5%). These losses were primarily driven by profit-taking activities and persistent selling pressure across the affected counters.
Looking ahead, stock market analysts at Cowry Asset Limited said they expect the Nigerian equities market to remain cautiously optimistic in the coming week as investors continue to position in fundamentally sound stocks ahead of the earnings season.
Brokers noted that profit-taking in recently appreciated counters and the mixed performance across sectors could limit the pace of gains.
Market sentiment is likely to remain driven by corporate earnings releases, dividend expectations, and developments in the macroeconomic environment, particularly movements in interest rates and fixed-income yields.
Cowry Asset anticipate continued sector rotation, with investors favouring fundamentally strong banking and other quality large-cap stocks, while maintaining a selective CBN to Auction N700 billion Worth of Nigerian Treasury Bills
