Weekly Rally Pushes Equities Year to Date Returns to 39.5%

The Nigerian equities market extended its positive momentum this week, with sentiment remaining broadly bullish despite a decline in the number of deals and transaction value.

The NGX All-Share Index gained 1.02% w/w to close at 143,584.04 points, buoyed by renewed investor appetite for fundamentally strong stocks.

Market capitalization followed suit, rising by 1.31% to N91.14 trillion, driven in part by the listing of 14.14 billion ordinary shares of Wema Bank Plc (50 kobo each) on Tuesday, September 30, 2025. This development contributed to an additional N1.18 trillion in investor gains.

The market’s resilience was further underscored by a stronger year-to-date return of 39.50%, reflecting sustained bullish sentiment despite intermittent profit-taking. Evidence of portfolio rebalancing and selective positioning also highlighted investor confidence in the market’s fundamentals.

Market breadth remained positive at 1.23x, with 53 gainers against 43 losers, pointing to cautious but positive optimism. However, overall activity was mixed: the number of deals declined slightly by 0.72% to 115,870 trades, while the value of transactions slumped by 76.62% to N115.52 billion, largely due to fewer block trades.

On the other hand, traded volume increased by 9.35% to 8.40 billion units, suggesting stronger retail and mid-tier participation.

Performance across the sectors was broadly positive, with five out of six major indices closing higher. The Oil & Gas index led the gainers with a 5.68% rally, followed by Commodities (+2.94%), Industrial Goods (+1.66%), Banking (+1.17%), and Consumer Goods (+0.13%). The Insurance index was the sole laggard, shedding 2.02% on the back of profit-taking and weak sentiment in select counters.

On the weekly performers and laggards, Eterna Nigeria topped the gainers’ chart with a 32.8% advancement, followed by Enamelwa (+20.9%), PZ (+20.9%), Livingtrust (+18.3%), and Eunisell (+17.6%).

Conversely, Julius Berger (Jberger) led the losers, declining by 17.8% w/w, while Intenegins (-11.1%), Union Dicon (-10.0%), Mansard (-10.0%), and UPL (-9.8%) also closed lower, as investors adopted a cautious stance toward these counters.

Experts expect the Nigerian equities market to maintain its bullish momentum in the near term, driven by sustained investor appetite for fundamentally strong stocks and portfolio rebalancing ahead of Q3 2025 reporting and earnings season.

“Although intermittent profit-taking and fewer block trades could result in mixed activity, the robust year-to-date performance, broad-based sectoral gains, and rising retail participation continue to underpin market stability. Meanwhile, we continue to advise investors to position in stocks with strong fundamentals and earning power,” experts said.