The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) recorded strong buying interest during the week, as the market’s total capitalisation rose by N4.57tn to N162.16tn, while the All-Share Index (ASI) gained 2.78 per cent to close at 249,804.56 points.
The weekly performance came amid increased trading activity, with investors exchanging 3.249 billion shares valued at N237.99bn in 287,919 deals, compared with 3.647 billion shares worth N130.15bn traded in 244,777 deals in the preceding week.
Although the volume of transactions declined by 10.91 per cent week-on-week, the value of transactions surged by 82.87 per cent, while the number of deals increased by 17.63 per cent, indicating stronger value turnover and broader market participation during the review period.
The market capitalisation, which stood at N157.59tn at the end of the previous week, advanced to N162.16tn, representing a 2.90 per cent weekly increase.
The ASI also rose from 243,052.74 points recorded in the previous week to 249,804.56 points, translating to a gain of 6,751.82 points or 2.78 per cent.
Market breadth also improved significantly during the week, reflecting stronger positive sentiment among listed equities.
A total of 52 equities appreciated in price, compared with only nine gainers in the previous week.
Conversely, 32 equities recorded price declines, down sharply from the 80 losers recorded in the preceding week, while 63 equities remained unchanged, compared with 58 equities in the previous week.
The performance showed a substantial improvement in market breadth, with the number of gainers increasing by 43 equities and the number of losers declining by 48 equities week-on-week.
Across the market, all other NGX indices closed higher during the week, with the exception of the NGX Growth Index, which declined by 0.14 per cent.
The Financial Services Industry remained the dominant segment of the equities market, accounting for the largest share of trading activity by volume.
The sector recorded a turnover of 2.581 billion shares valued at N97.21bn in 138,900 deals.
This represented 79.43 per cent of the total equity turnover volume and 40.85 per cent of the total equity turnover value during the week.
The Services Industry followed with 131.102 million shares worth N2.73bn traded in 15,084 deals.
The ICT Industry ranked third, recording a turnover of 114.622 million shares valued at N21.54bn in 29,152 deals.
The concentration of trading activity in the Financial Services Industry continued to reflect the significant contribution of banking and other financial services stocks to overall market liquidity.
At the individual equity level, Fidelity Bank Plc, Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc and Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc emerged as the three most actively traded stocks by volume during the week.
The three equities collectively accounted for 1.229 billion shares valued at N15.94bn in 7,796 deals.
Their combined volume represented 37.83 per cent of the total equity turnover during the week, while their value accounted for 6.70 per cent of overall equity turnover value.
The increased activity in selected financial-sector stocks, alongside broad-based gains across the market, supported the positive movement in the benchmark index and overall market capitalisation.
The improvement in market breadth was particularly notable compared with the previous week, when only nine equities recorded price gains against 80 decliners.
With 52 equities gaining during the week, the market recorded a significantly stronger positive price movement, while the decline in the number of losers to 32 suggested reduced selling pressure across listed stocks.
The NGX’s weekly performance therefore reflected a combination of stronger market breadth, increased transaction value and gains across most market indices, despite the decline in aggregate share volume traded.
At the close of trading, investors had exchanged more than N237.9bn worth of equities during the week, significantly above the N130.2bn recorded in the preceding week, as the market continued to attract increased value-based trading activity.
