The Nigerian stock market maintained its bullish momentum last week, with investors gaining a total of N3.4 trillion despite a shortened trading week due to a public holiday in honour of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Data from the Nigerian Exchange Limited showed that the market capitalisation rose to N83.24 trillion, up from N79.80 trillion the previous week. Similarly, the All-Share Index gained 4.3 per cent, closing at 131,585.66 points compared to 126,149.59 points the week before. The market’s year-to-date return now stands at 27.84 per cent.
The rally was driven largely by strong performances in the industrial goods sector, particularly Dangote Cement and BUA Cement, which posted week-on-week gains of 16.47 per cent and 31.28 per cent, respectively. Other major gainers included Stanbic IBTC (18.38%) and Nestle Nigeria (20.00%).
Trading activity surged significantly, with 17.5 billion shares worth N500.76 billion exchanged in 142,082 deals, compared to 5.39 billion shares valued at N107.81 billion traded in 134,390 deals the previous week.
The Financial Services sector dominated market activity, accounting for 90.13 per cent of total volume and 87.42 per cent of total value. This performance was largely attributed to bulk transactions involving shares of FirstHoldco Plc—linked to former Chairman Oba Otudeko and former First Bank Chairman Tunde Hassan-Odukale. Fidelity Bank also saw a major transaction involving over one billion shares, though details remain undisclosed.
The ICT sector followed, recording 325.13 million shares worth N3.49 billion in 9,028 deals, while the Consumer Goods sector posted 313.42 million shares valued at N20.16 billion in 14,917 deals.
Top-traded equities included FirstHoldco Plc, FCMB Group Plc, and Fidelity Bank Plc, which together accounted for 13.23 billion shares valued at N367.50 billion across 10,083 deals—representing 75.60 per cent of total volume and 73.39 per cent of total value for the week.
Most sectoral indices closed in positive territory, with the exception of NGX Insurance (-3.65%), NGX ASeM (-9.56%), NGX Oil & Gas (-0.76%), NGX Growth (-4.80%), and NGX Sovereign Bond (-0.57%).
Looking ahead, analysts at Cordros Capital said investor sentiment in the coming week will likely be influenced by the outcome of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting, as market participants assess its impact on yields and equity valuations.
