The Nigerian equities market is on track to close the week on a positive note as investors continue bargain-hunting, buoyed by strong corporate earnings and dividend declarations.
Analysts at Cowry Assets Management Limited expressed optimism, forecasting that bullish sentiment will persist, especially among dividend-paying and fundamentally strong stocks. They, however, cautioned investors to remain selective, given ongoing macroeconomic challenges and profit-taking risks.
Despite the Easter holiday-shortened trading week, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) recorded a robust performance. The All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 1.46%, closing at 105,752.61 points, while market capitalisation added N966 billion to settle at N66.465 trillion.
Investor confidence was boosted by strong Q1 2025 earnings reports from listed companies and the listing by introduction of Legend Internet Plc, which added two billion ordinary shares to the market, contributing about N11.28 billion to overall capitalisation.
From a sectoral perspective, performance was largely positive. The NGX Consumer Goods Index led gains, rising by 8.57% week-on-week, followed by the NGX Insurance Index at 7.30% and the NGX Banking Index at 5.06%. Meanwhile, the NGX Oil & Gas and NGX Industrial Goods Indices slipped by 0.07% and 3.43%, respectively.
The market breadth was encouraging, with 64 equities appreciating, 27 declining, and 57 remaining unchanged. International Breweries topped the gainers’ chart with a 40% rise to close at N7.70 per share, followed by NASCON Allied Industries with a 26.22% increase to N52.95, and Africa Prudential, up 25.64% to N17.15 per share.
On the losers’ side, VFD Group plunged by 82.19% to close at N17.10 per share, while John Holt declined by 18.60% and Dangote Cement fell by 10.00% to N432.00 per share.
In terms of trading volume, a total of 1.854 billion shares worth N56.025 billion were traded in 51,386 deals last week, compared to 1.525 billion shares valued at N43.006 billion in the previous week.
The Financial Services sector led activity by volume, accounting for 1.266 billion shares valued at N29.4 billion across 24,351 deals, followed by the ICT and Consumer Goods sectors. Notably, Fidelity Bank, Access Holdings, and Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) accounted for 43.03% of the total turnover volume and 39.34% of the total turnover value.
Looking ahead, analysts advise investors to continue focusing on companies with strong fundamentals, even as optimism remains high that the equities market will maintain its positive momentum through the week.
