BY BONNY AMADI
The Nigerian equities market closed the week on a positive note, recovering part of the losses recorded in the previous week as the NGX AllShare Index (ASI) advanced by 2.15% week-on-week to settle at 196,968.15 points.
In line with the benchmark’s performance, total market capitalization increased by the same margin to N126.43 trillion from N123.76 trillion in the pre- ceding week, representing an estimated N2.67 trillion gain in market value. Consequently, the year-to-date return improved to 26.58%, reflecting the sustained positive momentum in the domestic equities market.
Market breadth remained negative at 0.76x, with 44 gainers compared to 58 decliners, indicating that losses across a larger number of stocks moderated the broader market’s gains. Trading activity softened during the week, as volume and turnover declined by 32.52% and 9.51% week-on-week, respectively.
However, the number of deals edged higher by 0.35% over the same period. By the end of the week, investors had traded 3.70 billion shares valued at N177.76 billion across 371,317 deals, suggesting relatively weaker participation overall.
Sectoral performance closed the week on a broadly bullish note, with gains recorded across all major sectors under coverage except the Insurance sector.
The Oil & Gas sector ed the pack, advancing by 9.43% week-on-week, supported by strong buying interest in Aradel Holdings Plc and Oando Plc. Closely following was the Industrial Goods sector, which appreciated by 3.89% week-on-week, driven by improved investor confidence in Premier Paints Plc, Lafarge Africa Plc, and Dangote Cement Plc.
The Consumer Goods sector also rose by 1.12%, underpinned by buying activities in PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc and Cadbury Nigeria Plc, while the Banking sector edged up by 0.24% on the back of renewed interest in Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, and Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc.
Meanwhile, the Insurance sector declined by 1.88%, reflecting sustained selling pressure in AXA Mansard Insurance Plc, Universal Insurance Plc, and Cornerstone Insurance Plc.
At the stock level, FTGIN- SURE led the gainers’ chart with a 58.5% surge, followed by PREMPAINTS (+32.7%), ETERNA (+28.7%), NGX (+21.7%), and UACN (+20.6%), supported by strong buying interest. On the flip side, MCNICHOLS (-24.4%), MECURE (-18.9%), MULTIVERSE (-18.7%), JAIZBANK (-18.4%), and OMATEK (-15.4%) topped the losers’ chart, reflecting profit-taking and sustained selling pressure in those counters.
In the near term, it is expected that the domestic equities market would maintain a cautious positive tone as investors continue to position in fundamentally sound and undervalued stocks following the recent rebound.
Bargain hunting and selective accumulation particularly in large-capitalisation and funda- mentally strong counters—could provide support to the benchmark NGX All-Share Index.
However, intermittent profit taking and relatively subdued trading activity may limit the pace of gains. Consequently, market performance in the coming week is expected to be driven largely by stock specific developments and investor sentiment across key sectors
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