Nigerian Exchange rises to N93.5trn after plan to review tax

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) grew to N93.5 trillion on Friday as market volatility stopped after clarification on capital gains tax.  The market size had fallen below N90 billion due to massive sell-offs that greeted the contested 30% capital gains tax on naira assets. The All-Share Index edged up 0.02% to settle at 147,013.59 points, while market capitalisation grew by ₦20 billion to ₦93.5 trillion, reflecting measured investor activity.

Market breadth was balanced, with 31 gainers marginally surpassing 30 decliners, yielding a neutral 1.0x ratio.  The fresh rally was buoyed as Nigeria clarified issues around Capital Gains Tax, which had triggered market volatility earlier in the week. Stockbrokers reported that trading activity surged dramatically across all parameters: volume jumped 745.52% to 4.9 billion shares, transaction values climbed 91.04% to ₦42.25 billion, and deal count rose 3.29% to 24,152.

According to investment firm Cowry Asset Limited, this robust uptick indicates heightened institutional engagement through larger block transactions, signalling strategic accumulation as investors capitalize on attractive entry points. The uptrend was fuelled by persistent buying interest in some major sectors, coupled with bargain hunting in selected medium and large-scale stocks such as ACCESSCORP, FCMB, ARADEL, ELLAHLAKES, among others. ACCESSCORP led the volume chart, accounting for 19.84% of the trading volume executed in Nigerian market, followed by STERLINGNG (11.55%), FIDELITYBK (9.44%), FCMB (8.61%), and STANBIC with 5.99%.

On value traded, STANBIC led the park, accounted for 20.74%% of the total value of traded, thereby making it the highest traded on the exchange. PRESTIDE topped the best performer’s with +9.84% price surge, trailed by NCR (+9.64%), ASOSAVINGS (+9.57%), GUINEAINS (+9.57%), TIP (+8.81%), RTBRISCOE (+7.99%), and twenty-five others.
UNIONDICON topped loser chart with a price depreciation of -10.00%, followed by TRIPPLEG (-9.98%), ABCTRANS (-9.91%), REGALINS (-9.60%), SOVRENINS (-7.32%), and CAVERTON (-6.00%).

Sectoral performance was mixed: Industrial posted the strongest gain at 1.39%, followed by Oil & Gas (+0.09%), Commodity (+0.08%), and Consumer Goods (+0.06%), while Banking declined 1.40% and Insurance slipped 0.05%. Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Mr. Wale Edun on Tuesday at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) assured that the government had taken notes of stakeholders’ concerns on the CGT and would undertake further analysis and consultation to prevent any adverse effect. “We have heard what you have said about capital gains tax. We are looking at it. We will listen. We will analyse. We will discuss, and we will, at the end of it, decide, and hopefully we will decide what is best for Nigeria,” Edun said.