NGX Stock Market expands to N65.59trn

Nigerian Exchange stocks grew by about N884 billion to close the week at N65.59 trillion on Friday due to increased interest in some listed companies shares. The equities segment of the Nigerian Exchange, NGX, commenced February on a positive note, extending its bullish streak. Data showed that the NGX All-share index climbed by 1.38% week-on-week to 105,933.03 points on Friday. Stockbrokers said expectations of more impressive earnings releases and the anticipated January 2025 Consumer Price Index (CPI) data under the new methodology triggered buying momentum. 
As a result, the total market capitalisation rose by 1.37% week-on-week to N65.59 trillion, translating to an N883.5 billion gain for investors. This brought the year-to-date return of the index to 2.92%.  Market breadth remained positive at 1.71x, with the exchange recording more gainers (58) than losers (34) this week. Trading activity remained strong, with gains recorded in all five sessions.  Weekly trading volume and value surged by 25.84% and 82.71% week-on-week to 4.08 billion units valued at N126.43 billion, respectively, while the number of weekly deals increased by 12.8% to 87,162 trades. The market witnessed a positive performance across five of the six tracked sectors, except for the NGX-Consumer Goods Index, which declined by 0.60% week-on-week due to price depreciation in DANGSUGAR, TANTALIZER, NIGERIAN BREWERIES, and MAYBAKER.
On the other hand, the Banking Index led the gainers with a 4.66% increase, followed by the Insurance index, which advanced by 1.61%, and the Commodity index, which rose by 1.29%. The Industrial and Oil & Gas indices also posted gains of 0.85% and 0.56%, respectively. Strong investor interest was observed in UPDC, ETERNA, INTENEGINS, FBNH, SOVRENINS, BETAGLASS, ACCESSCORP, OKOMUOIL, PRESCO, and OANDO. Among the top-performing stocks for the week, UPDC led with a 38.5% gain, followed by ETERNA at 32.8%, INTENEGINS at 29.5%, CADBURY at 26.6%, and FIDSON at 24.4%.
On the flip side, the worst-performing stocks included SUNUASSUR, which declined by 12.9%, UPL and MULTIVERSE, both of which dropped by 10%, SCAO, which lost 9.8%, and TRIPPLE G, which fell by 9.70%.
Looking ahead, Cowry Asset Limited said the bullish momentum is expected to continue, driven by the release of more impressive Q4 earnings reports. These reports are expected to provide insights into potential dividend payouts, based on corporate earnings performance and dividend policies, stockbrokers explained. Cowry Asset Limited expects macroeconomic data and upcoming economic events to shape market sentiment in the coming week, advised investors to keep  eye on corporate disclosures and broader economic indicators to make informed decisions.