The Nigerian stock market sustained its positive run on Wednesday, with the All-Share Index (ASI) edging up by 0.04% to close at 252,508.19 points.
The modest gain lifted the year-to-date return to 62.27%, from 62.04% in the previous session, while market capitalisation grew by N64.14 billion to settle at N161.84 trillion.
Buying interest was evident across the board, with market breadth closing positive at 1.45x as 42 stocks advanced against 29 decliners.
CWG led the gainers’ chart with a 10% gain, joined by DAARCOMM and FIDSON, which also rose by 10% apiece. LIVESTOCK and BERGER rounded off a strong day for gainers, rising 10% and 9.97% respectively.
On the losing side, NCR shed 10% to top the laggards, while ZICHIS fell 9.99% and FIRSTHOLDCO dropped 9.87%.
Trading activity was mixed as total volume declined by 6.63%, even as turnover rose sharply by 34.60%, suggesting that fewer but higher-value trades were executed.
FIRSTHOLDCO dominated activity on both fronts, with 575.42 million shares exchanged at a value of N44.42 billion, despite closing lower on the day.
By sector, Financial Services led volume with over 1.14 billion shares traded, followed by ICT and Services. By value, Financial Services again topped the chart at N64.77 billion, with ICT and Oil and Gas trailing.
Among sectoral indices, Oil and Gas was the strongest performer, rising 3.37%, while the Industrial Goods index gained 0.43% and Consumer Goods climbed 1.94%. Banking and Insurance both slipped, declining 0.70% and 0.73% respectively.
Among the year’s standout performers, RTBRISCOE leads with a year-to-date gain of 385.71%, followed by SCOA at 285.21% and JOHNHOLT at 283.67%. At the other end, ROYALEX remains the biggest laggard year-to-date, down 24.73%, with ELLAHLAKES and UPL also nursing double-digit losses for the year.
NASD OTC Market
The over-the-counter market remained under pressure. The NASD Security Index (NSI) fell 0.30% to 4,143.97 points, dragging market capitalisation down by the same margin to N2.48 trillion.
Trading activity weakened considerably, with volume and value declining by 48.26% and 43.58% respectively. SDIPWAPLC gained 9.01% to lead advancers, while SDNIPCOPLC fell 11.11% to record the session’s steepest loss.
Foreign Exchange
The naira came under mild pressure in the official market, with the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) depreciating by 0.37% to close at N1,370.56 per dollar.
The NAFEX rate, however, moved in the opposite direction, appreciating by 2.56% to N1,378.25. Nigeria’s monetary policy rate currently stands at 26.50%, down from 27.00% previously, while inflation ticked up to 15.38% from 15.06%.
Crude Oil
Oil prices held firmly above $100 per barrel, with Brent crude easing 1.52% to $105.95 and WTI slipping 0.72% to $101.44. Bonny Light held steady at $110.27. Markets were weighing a sharp draw in United States crude inventories — down 4.3 million barrels, well above expectations — against uncertainty around the fragile Middle East ceasefire and the Trump-Xi summit in Beijing. Disruptions near the Strait of Hormuz continued to underpin elevated energy prices.
Global Markets
Across global indices, the NASDAQ Composite gained 2.15% to 26,403.82, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.84% to 63,272.11. The JSE All-Share advanced 0.53% to 117,380.17.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.21% to 49,658.01, and the S&P Europe 350 fell 0.98% to 2,459.36. The GSE Composite Index in Ghana declined 1.16% to 14,352.08.
US producer prices rose 1.4% in April, the largest monthly increase since March 2022, lifting annual producer inflation to 6.0% and dampening expectations of near-term interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
