The Nigerian stock market sustained its bullish momentum during the week as investors sentiment turned increasingly positive, fuelled by strong first-quarter 2025 earnings results and the ongoing earnings season.
The market’s benchmark indicator, the All-Share Index (ASI), rose by 2.54 per cent week-on-week to close at 108,733.40 points. Similarly, the overall market capitalisation gained N1.691 trillion to close the week at N68.339 trillion.
This uptick was largely driven by strong buy-side activity, particularly within the consumer goods sector, as investors responded positively to solid corporate performance and earnings expectations.
Also, market breadth for the week was positive as 68 equities appreciated in price, 28 equities depreciated in price, while 52 equities remained unchanged. Multiverse Mining and Exploration led the gainers table by 57.48 per cent to close at N10.00, per share. Academy Press followed with a gain of 50.52 per cent to close at N4.32, while Beta Glass went up by 46.31 per cent to close to N160.65, per share.
On the other side, Abbey Mortgage Bank led the decliners table by 15.66 per cent to close at N7.00, per share. Meyer followed with a loss of 13.51 per cent to close at N8.00, while Veritas Kapital Assurance declined by 10.81 per cent to close at 99 kobo, per share.
Overall, a total turnover of 2.645 billion shares worth N77.005 billion in 86,110 deals was traded last week by investors on the floor of the Exchange, in contrast to a total of 2.200 billion shares valued at N75.409 billion that exchanged hands prior week in 70,329 deals.
Looking ahead, analysts at Cowry Asset Management Limited said, “market sentiment is expected to remain upbeat in the coming week, supported by the ongoing earnings and dividend season.
“Additionally, investors will be closely monitoring macroeconomic data releases; particularly the April 2025 Consumer Price Index (CPI) report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Q1 GDP figures, and the outcome of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting scheduled for later in May. Against this backdrop, Cowry Research reiterates a strategic advisory for investors to prioritise fundamentally sound stocks and apply due diligence in portfolio selection to navigate potential volatility and maximise returns.”
This week, Imperial Asset Managers stated that, “we foresee a mixed market ahead of April 2025 Inflation data release. Periodic profit taking as witnessed on May 9, 2025 is expected to be prominent. Notwithstanding, the strong performance of companies in Q1 2025 earnings season will continue to provide support to the market in the place of perception and price discovery.”
