NGX All-Share Index (ASI) appreciated 1.39% to close at 195,514.23

The Nigerian equities market opened the week with positive momentum, as the All-Share Index (ASI) appreciated 1.39% to close at 195,514.23 points.

The session’s gains pushed the year-to-date return higher to 25.64%, compared to 23.91% recorded previously. Market capitalisation increased correspondingly by N1.72trn (1.39%), settling at N125.49trn.

The bullish sentiment was primarily driven by robust investor interest in bellwether and mid-cap equities, notably DANGCEM (+3.97%), MTNN (+3.03%), TRANSCORP (+6.63%), and WAPCO (+3.75%).

These gains more than compensated for losses recorded in UBA (-3.28%), CUSTODIAN (-10.00%), DANGSUGAR (-2.35%), and ACCESSCORP (-2.08%).

Market activity presented a mixed picture during the session. Transaction volume contracted 4.12%, while trade value registered a marginal increase of 0.94%. JAPAULGOLD (+3.37%) dominated the volume chart with 54.72mn units traded, whereas ARADEL (+9.99%) led in value terms with N6.09bn in transactions.

Market breadth closed negative at 0.94x, reflecting a marginal preponderance of decliners over advancers. NGXGROUP (+10.00%) topped thirty (30) gainers, while CUSTODIAN (-10.00%) led thirty-two (32) laggards.

Meanwhile NGX ended last week in the red, with the All-Share Index (ASI) dropping 1.11% w/w to close at 192,826.78 points. This marks the end of a three-week bullish streak that previously pushed the market higher.

This decline compressed the year-to-date return to 23.91%, from 25.30% recorded in the preceding week. Market capitalisation contracted by N1.40trn w/w (1.12% w/w), to settle at N123.76trn.

The week’s underperformance was primarily attributable to profit-taking in
heavyweight stocks, notably in BUA Foods (-6.58% w/w), MTN Nigeria (-2.56% w/w), Dangote Cement (-2.61% w/w), and Lafarge Africa (-4.76% w/w).

These declines overshadowed gains recorded in Okomu Oil Palm (+20.92% w/w) and BUA Cement (+4.29% w/w), which proved insufficient to offset the broader selloff pressure.

Sectoral performance was predominantly negative, with only the Banking Index (+0.71% w/w) closing in the positive territory. The Consumer Goods Index (-3.47% w/w) led the decline, followed by Industrial Goods (-0.69% w/w), Insurance (-0.62% w/w), and Oil & Gas (-0.43% w/w) indices.

The NGX 30 declined 1.23% w/w, while the Pension Index posted a modest 0.13% gain.