The Nigerian equities market closed last week on a position note, gaining N187 billion, supported by renewed buying interest across key major stocks.

Market capitalisation of listed equities increased by approximately 0.12 per cent to N158.51 trillion from N158.325 trillion reported the previous day.

The benchmark NGX All Share Index also gained 309.92 basis points or 0.12 per cent week-on-week to close at 245,573.60 points from 245284.68 points.

Despite the positive performance of the benchmark index, market breadth remained negative, with 26 gainers against 63 losers while 58 stocks remained unchanged with their prices. 

As a result, the market’s year-to-date return improved to 57.81 per cent, reflecting cautious investor sentiment, as declining stocks continued to outnumber advancing stocks throughout the week.

Market activity reduced considerably, signalling lower investor participation. While the total volume of transactions increased by 4.69 per cent week-on-week to 5.359 billion units, both trading value and the number of deals declined by 65.65 per cent and 8.19 per cent, respectively. 

In total, investors exchanged 5.359 billion shares valued at N139.053 billion across 262,224 deals against 5.119 billion worth N404.762 billion reported the previous week in 285223 deals.

An analysis of the transaction showed that the financial services Industry led the activity chart in volume terms with 3.469 billion shares valued at N73.013 billion traded in 117,509 deals, contributing 64.73 per cent and 52.51 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively. 

The Oil & Gas Industry followed with 1.023 billion shares worth N18.900 billion in 17,680 deals. Third place was the ICT Industry, with a turnover of 232.368 million shares worth N14.624 billion in 31,866 deals.

Trading in the top three equities, namely Japaul Gold & Ventures Plc, Fortis Global Insurance Plc and FCMB Group Plc accounted for 2.562 billion shares worth N14.173 billion in 6,645 deals, contributing 47.80 per cent and 10.19 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

On the sectoral performance, the market was mixed during the week as renewed buying interest in banking and consumer goods stocks offset weakness across the insurance, industrial goods, and oil & gas sectors. 

The Banking Index emerged as the best-performing sector, advancing 2.33 per cent on the back of sustained investor demand for FCMB, FirstHoldco and AccessCorp.

The gains reflect continued investor optimism surrounding the sector’s strong earnings outlook and resilient profitability in the prevailing high interest rate environment.

The Consumer Goods Index followed with a 1.97 per cent gain, supported by renewed buying interest in Vitafoam and Nascon, as investors selectively accumulated fundamentally sound stocks after recent price corrections. In contrast, the Industrial Goods Index declined marginally by 0.17 per cent, reflecting mild profit-taking in CAP following recent gains. 

The Oil & Gas Index also closed broadly flat, easing 0.02 per cent as selective profit-taking offset buying interest in Oando and JapaulGold, resulting in muted overall sector performance.

The Insurance Index recorded the weakest performance during the week, declining 3.31 per cent amid heightened selling pressure and profit-taking in Sovereign Trust Insurance (Soverenins), Consolidated Hallmark Holdings (Conhall), and SUNU Assurances. 

Overall, sectoral performance reflects a market characterised by selective positioning, with investors continuing to rotate into fundamentally strong sectors while locking in gains in stocks that have posted significant price appreciation in recent weeks. As the earnings season progresses, sector-specific corporate results and valuation considerations are expected to remain the key drivers of market direction.