Bullish Trading Propels Equities Market To N1.81trn Gains In 4 Days

The Nigerian equities market ended the first trading week in the month of June on a strong bullish momentum, with the overall capitalisation up by N1.81 trillion.

Gains were recorded in all four trading sessions, underpinned by renewed investor interest in financial services, energy, telecoms, and FMCG stocks. The rally was largely driven by portfolio rebalancing activities at the onset of the new trading month, alongside tailwinds from earnings season and the recent PMI report, which signaled renewed resilience in the Nigerian economy.

The market’s benchmark indicator, the All-Share Index (ASI), rose by 2.57 per cent week-on-week to close at 114,616.75 points. Similarly, the overall market capitalisation gained N1.81 trillion to close the week at N72.275 trillion.

Also, market breadth for the week was positive as 53 equities appreciated in price, 43 equities depreciated in price, while 52 equities remained unchanged. Oando led the gainers table by 25.77 per cent to close at N11.65, per share. Lasaco Assurance followed with a gain of 21.62 per cent to close at N3.15, while Multiverse Mining and Exploration went up by 20.39 per cent to close to N9.15, per share.

On the other side, Associated Bus Company led the decliners table by 18.64 per cent to close at N2.40, per share. Julius Berger Nigeria followed with a loss of 13.50 per cent to close at N18.50, while Legend Internet declined by 13.31 per cent to close at N5.34, per share.

Overall, a total turnover of 3.214 billion shares worth N76.348 billion in 64,156 deals was traded last week by investors on the floor of the Exchange, in contrast to a total of 3.794 billion shares valued at N119.394 billion that exchanged hands prior week in 89,636 deals.

Looking ahead, analysts at Cowry Asset Management Limited said, “we expect the prevailing trend to persist in the near term as investors continue to realign their portfolios in anticipation of further earnings releases and macroeconomic data, particularly Nigeria’s Q1 2025 GDP numbers.

“The sustained momentum in the market is likely to be driven by a combination of sectoral rotation strategies and positive sentiment surrounding the resilience of the domestic economy.

“However, trading may remain moderate as some players adopt a cautious stance ahead of fresh catalysts. We maintain our guidance for investors to stay positioned in fundamentally strong counters with solid earnings prospects and defensive characteristics, particularly in light of macroeconomic uncertainty and evolving liquidity dynamics.”