Stock investors gain N3.4tn in shortened trading week
The Nigerian stock market continued its positive trend last week, with investors realizing a total gain of N3.4 trillion, despite the trading week being shortened due to a public holiday honoring former President Muhammadu Buhari.According to data from the Nigerian Exchange Limited, the market capitalization increased to N83.24 trillion, rising from N79.80 trillion the prior week. Likewise, the All-Share Index climbed by 4.3 percent, finishing at 131,585.66 points compared to 126,149.59 points the week before. The market's return year-to-date now stands at 27.84 percent.
The rally was primarily fueled by strong performances in the industrial goods sector, especially Dangote Cement and BUA Cement, which saw week-on-week increases of 16.47 percent and 31.28 percent, respectively. Other notable gainers included Stanbic IBTC (18.38%) and Nestle Nigeria (20.00%).
Trading activity experienced a significant surge, with 17.5 billion shares worth N500.76 billion traded in 142,082 deals, compared to 5.39 billion shares valued at N107.81 billion exchanged in 134,390 deals the previous week.
The Financial Services sector led market activity, making up 90.13 percent of the total volume and 87.42 percent of the total value. This activity was largely driven by substantial transactions involving shares of FirstHoldco Plc, associated with former Chairman Oba Otudeko and former First Bank Chairman Tunde Hassan-Odukale. Additionally, Fidelity Bank witnessed a significant transaction involving over one billion shares, although further details are not available.
The ICT sector followed closely, reporting 325.13 million shares worth N3.49 billion in 9,028 transactions, while the Consumer Goods sector had 313.42 million shares valued at N20.16 billion in 14,917 transactions.
The most actively traded stocks included FirstHoldco Plc, FCMB Group Plc, and Fidelity Bank Plc, which collectively represented 13.23 billion shares valued at N367.50 billion across 10,083 transactions—accounting for 75.60 percent of total volume and 73.39 percent of total value for the week.
Most sectoral indices finished in the green, with the exceptions being NGX Insurance (-3.65%), NGX ASeM (-9.56%), NGX Oil & Gas (-0.76%), NGX Growth (-4.80%), and NGX Sovereign Bond (-0.57%).
Looking forward, analysts at Cordros Capital noted that investor sentiment in the upcoming week will likely be shaped by the results of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting, as market participants evaluate its implications for yields and stock valuations.
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