Equities Extend Rally By N257bn Gain Amid Inflation Dip

The Nigerian equities market yesterday sustained its three-day bullish streak as gains in Nestle Nigeria Plc and 35 others pushed the overall capitalization up by N257 billion.

The All-Share Index (ASI) gained by 408.31 points, representing a growth of 0.37 per cent to close at 109,467.64 points. Also, market capitalisation gained N257 billion to close at N68.801 trillion.
Following the January 2025 rebasing, Nigeria’s inflation declined until March, when it recorded an uptick. In April, inflation slowed again, indicating a return to the downward trend. The headline CPI (Year-over-Year) recorded 23.71 per cent, from 24.23 per cent recorded in March 2025.

The upturn was impacted by gains recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are; Nestle Nigeria, Beta Glass, Okomu Oil, Northern Nigeria Flour Mills (NNFM) and Skyway Aviation Handling Company.

On market outlook, Afrinvest Limited said, “given the improved sentiment, we expect the bullish outing to linger barring any negative triggers.”

Market breadth was strong, with 36 gainers outpacing 23 losers, highlighting bullish sentiment. Honeywell Flour Mills and Nestle Nigeria recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent each to close at N16.50 and N1,331.00 respectively, while Beta Glass followed with a gain of 9.98 per cent to close at N213.70, per share.

NPF Microfinance Bank rose by 9.81 per cent to close at N2.35, while Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals up by 9.77 per cent to close at N3.37, per share.

On the other hand, Multiverse Mining & Exploration led the losers’ chart by 9.64 per cent to close at N8.90, per share. Wapic Insurance followed with a decline of 4.74 per cent to close at N2.01, while Lasaco Assurance declined by 4.53 per cent to close at N2.32, per share.

May & Baker Nigeria depreciated by 3.82 per cent to close at N12.60, while AIICO Insurance declined by 3.61 per cent to close at N1.60, per share.

Also, the total volume traded rose by 37.4 per cent to 729.876 million units, valued at N13.879 billion, and exchanged in 14,743 deals. Transactions in the shares of FCMB Group topped the activity chart with 273.035 million shares valued at N2.567 billion. Fidelity Bank followed with 643.454 million shares worth N896.727 million, while Caverton Offshore Support Group traded 35.091 million shares valued at N144.669 million.

AIICO Insurance traded 33.854 million shares valued at N54.263 million, while FTN Cocoa processors sold 26.356 million shares worth N63.273 million.