Earnings Optimism Triggers N4.32trn Equities Gain In 5 Days

The Nigerian equities market last week sustained its bullish momentum for the 10th consecutive week with a weekly gain of N4.32 trillion, driven by a continued influx of robust half year (H1) 2025 earnings results, resilient corporate fundamentals, and attractive dividend declarations.

Investor sentiment remained buoyant across key sectors, reinforcing expectations of a strong performance trajectory for the rest of the year.

The NGX All-Share Index (ASI) surged by 5.07 per cent week-on-week (w/w) to close at a new historic high of 141,263.05 points, while the market capitalisation of listed equities advanced by N4.32 trillion W-o-W to close at N89.373 trillion.

Accordingly, the year-to-date (YtD) return as of August 1, 2025 expanded to 37.25 per cent, positioning the Nigerian bourse as one of Africa’s top-performing equity markets so far this year.

Also, market breadth for the week was positive as 54 equities appreciated in price, 49 equities depreciated in price, while 43 equities remained unchanged. UACN led the gainers table by 60.69 per cent to close at N88.30, per share. MeCure Industries followed with a gain of 41.52 per cent to close at N15.85, while Custodian Investment went up by 27.87 per cent to close to N39.00, per share.

On the other side, Abbey Mortgage Bank led the decliners table by 34.13 per cent to close at N5.27, per share. FTN Cocoa Processors followed with a loss of 20.30 per cent to close at N5.77, while Cornerstone Insurance declined by 15.99 per cent to close at N4.15, per share.

Overall, a total of 4.847 billion shares worth N149.755 billion in 174,267 deals were  traded last week by investors on the floor of the Exchange, in contrast to a total of 3.691 billion shares valued at N112.261 billion that exchanged hands prior week in 138,250 deals.

On market outlook, Cowry Asset Management Limited said, “we expect the bullish sentiment to persist in the near term, supported by under-valuation of the Nigerian market relative to African peers, improving macro fundamentals, and the expectation of interim dividend declarations by Tier-1 banks.

“With major banks yet to release their H1 results, investor positioning is likely to intensify in the coming sessions. We continue to advise investors to tilt their portfolios toward fundamentally strong stocks with consistent earnings power and potential for dividend income, especially in the banking, cement, and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sectors.”

This week, Afrinvest Limited said, “We expect the bourse to sustain the positive momentum as investors continue to respond to earnings releases and cherry-pick stocks with attractive valuations.”