By Peter Egwuatu
The Nigerian equities market continued its impressive upward trajectory last week, marking a third straight Week-on-Week, WoW, of gains with the market closing positive in all five trading sessions of the week.
Specifically, investors gained N8.7 trillion from their investment on the Nigerian Exchange Limited, NGX, the highest so far this year, as market capitalisation, which represents the total value of equities investment, surged to N139.826 trillion from N131.165 trillion the previous week.
Another major performance indicator, NGX All Share Index, ASI, rose by 6.6% to close at 217,167.58 points from 203,770.43 points.
The performance was driven by buying interest in Aradel, which gained 28.9%, MTN, 10.7%, Airtel Africa 10.0%, Stanbic IBTC 36.6%, Seplat 9.4%, BUA Foods 3.3% and Zenith Bank 12.5%.
Analysts have attributed the market surge to sustained liquidity inflows, improving investor sentiment, and strong demand for fundamentally sound stocks to keep the bullish momentum firmly intact on the Exchange.
Consequently, the market’s Year to Date,YtD, return strengthened to 39.56%.
Further market activity for the week under review showed that total volume and value traded increased by 6.6% WoW and 28.4% WoW respectively.
On sectors, performance was broadly bullish, as the Oil & Gas Index went up by 17.6%, Banking Index grew by 11.9%, Consumer Goods Index 3.4% and Industrial Goods Index 1.3%. The Insurance Index closed the week flat.
Commenting on market performance and outlook, analysts at Cordros Capital stated: “Looking ahead, attention will turn to the first wave of first quarter 2026, Q1’26 earnings releases on the NGX next week, which should begin to shape near term market direction. As results come through, investor positioning is likely to become more selective, with flows increasingly tied to earnings delivery and outlook across tickers.”
Also commenting, analysts at InvestData Consulting Limited, said: “Looking ahead, the near-term outlook for the market remains cautiously optimistic. While intermittent pullbacks may emerge following the sustained rally, such corrections are expected to be mild and largely technical in nature.”
They added: “The oil-driven tailwind has further reinforced investor appetite for energy stocks, particularly upstream and integrated oil names, as market participants continue to price in the potential impact of sustained high crude prices on revenue growth, foreign exchange inflows, and fiscal stability.
As a result, the oil & gas sector remains a key pillar of the ongoing rally, complementing strength in the banking space.”
Article Stock market rally intensifies, as investors reap N8.7trn Live On NgGossips.
