Investors reap N1.67trillion in one week, ASI Gains 1.76% w/w

• Santa Rally Roars as NGX Breaks 152,000 in Year-End Risk-On Surge

BY BONNY AMADI

The NGX equities market last week was dominated by risk appetite as broad-based buying interest swept across blue-chip names, large caps and fundamentally sound stocks ahead of the Christmas holiday.

Equity investors reaped N1.67 trillion in one week, as the familiar year-end calendar effect and window-dressing activities came through strongly, reinforcing bullish sentiment and pushing several stocks to fresh 52-week highs as investors tested new frontiers in the rally.

Against a bullish trend, the benchmark index climbed 1.76 per cent week-on-week to close at 152,057.38 points, extending the year-end rally and underscoring sustained confidence in financial and consumer-facing stocks.

With investors aggressively taking positions, year-to-date returns strengthened further to 47.73%. Market capitalization mirrored the index performance, rising by 1.76% to N96.94 trillion as the market pressed closer to the psychologically significant N100 trillion mark. As a result, equity investors smiled at their portfolios with N1.67 trillion upbeat in one week.

Trading activity turned sharply upbeat, reflecting renewed participation and broad-based conviction. This was clearly evident in market breadth, which closed at a strong 1.57x, with 55 advancers outweighing 35 decliners.

Weekly trading volume surged by 125.2% to 9.85 billion units, while turnover value jumped by 212.6% to N305.89 billion. These trades were executed across 126,637 deals, highlighting a decisive return of risk-on behaviour and stronger liquidity across the market.

Sectoral performance leaned firmly bullish, with five of the six sectors under coverage closing in positive territory. The Consumer Goods sector led the advance, gaining 2.75%, buoyed by strong performances in GUINNESS and CHAMPION BREWERIES.

The Banking sector followed closely with a 2.73% gain as investors increased exposure to fundamentally robust names such as FIRSTHOLDCO and AFRIPRUD.

The Industrial Goods sector also delivered solid gains, advancing by 1.09% on the back of buying interest IN BUA CEMENT and BERGER. Insurance and Commodity indices edged higher by 0.96% and 0.34% respectively, supported by selective accumulation in OKOMU OIL, SUNU ASSURANCES and SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE.

The lone laggard was the Oil and Gas sector, which dipped marginally by 0.17% amid mild profit-taking in JAPAUL GOLD and ETERNA.

On the performance leaderboard, ALUMINIUM EXTRUSION COMPANY (ALEX) topped the chart with a remarkable 59.4% weekly gain, followed by MECURE at 44.9%, FIRSTHOLDCo at 42.9%, GUINNESS at 33.0% and NPF Microfinance Bank at 20.6%. Conversely, LIVESTOCK FEEDS, JAPAUL GOLD, INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE, FTN COCOA and STANBIC IBTC re- corded losses of 11.4%, 10.5%, 9.9%, 9.8% and 9.3% respectively, as some investors locked in profits or rebalanced portfolios.

Technically, the market remains firmly in an uptrend, with the index sustaining a pattern of higher highs and higher lows.