Equity Investors Reap N4.32 trillion in one week

• As Earnings-Fuelled Optimism Drives Broad-Based Rally

BY BONNY AMADI

Investors in shares of companies’ listed on the NGX Exchange last week record- ed N4.32 trillion gains which was driven by market optimism which powered broad based equities market rally.

In the week, the Nigerian equities market sustained its bullish momentum for the tenth consecutive week, driven by a continued influx of robust H1 2025 earnings results, resilient corporate fundamentals, and attractive dividend declarations.

Investor sentiment remained buoyant across key sectors, reinforcing expectations of a strong performance trajectory for the rest of the year.

In the just-concluded week, the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) surged by 5.07 per cent week-on-week (w/w) to close at a new historic high of 141,263.05 points, while the market capitalisation of listed equities advanced by 5.08 per cent w/w to N89.37 trillion. This translated into N4.32 trillion in market gains for investors.

Accordingly, the year-to-date (YtD) return expanded to 37.25%, positioning the Nigerian bourse as one of Africa’s top-performing equity markets so far this year. Market breadth closed significantly positive at 2.77x, with 86 stocks recording gains versus 31 decliners. The week saw a broad improvement in activity levels, with total volume and value traded increasing by 31.6% and 33.8% w/w to 4.85 billion shares and N149.75 billion, respectively. The number of trades also rose 26.4% to 174,265 deals, underscoring renewed investor interest and confidence across the board.

Sector performance was broadly positive, with four of the six major sector indices posting gains. The NGX Industrial Goods Index led the charge, rising by 10.12% w/w, driven by strong buy-side interest in DANGOTE CEMENT, BUA CE- MENT, LAFARGE AFRICA, CAP, JULIUS BERGER, and UPDC.

The Banking Index followed with a 3.49% w/w gain, spurred by positive sentiment in UBA, WEMABANK, ZENITHBANK, and FIDELITYBANK, as investors priced in expectations of healthy H1 results and interim dividend declarations.

The Consumer Goods Index also rose 2.72% on the back of rallies in DANGOTE SUGAR, NAS- CON, CADBURY, GUINNESS, and UACN, the latter of which led all gainers for the week.

Meanwhile, the Insurance (-1.22%) and Oil & Gas (-0.48%) sectors closed negative, dragged by declines in LASACO, GUINEA INSURANCE, SUNU ASSURANCE, ETERNA, and OANDO.

UACN emerged as the best performing stock of the week with a staggering 115.9% return, followed by ACADEMY (78.3%), ABCTRANS (65.8%), EUNISELL (62.2%), and LAFARGE AFRICA (61.1%). On the flip side, LEGEND INTERNET (-20.0%), UPL (-16.3%), LASACO (-15.6%), GUINEA INSURANCE (-14.65%), and NNFM (-13.8%) topped the laggards’ chart.

In the new week, it is expected that the bullish sentiment will persist in the near term, supported by undervaluation of the Nigerian market relative to African peers, improving macro fundamentals, and the expectation of interim dividend declarations by Tier-1 banks.

With major banks yet to release their H1 results, investor positioning is likely to intensify in the coming sessions. We continue to advise investors to tilt their portfolios toward fundamentally strong stocks with consistent earnings power and potential for dividend income, especially in the banking, cement, and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sectors.