The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) experienced a positive week, with equities market investors gaining N409 billion.
The All-Share Index (ASI) saw a marginal increase, rising by 1.12 percent week-on-week to reach 67,200.69 points.
Market capitalization of listed equities also increased by 1 percent, reaching N36.919 trillion, and the year-to-date return of the ASI rose to 31.12 percent.
Positive market trend
Analysts at Cowry Assets Management Limited, in their weekly report, noted that the market remained in a consolidation range with low trading volume and a positive market breadth.
The positive trend was driven by increasing expectations for the third-quarter earnings season, despite macroeconomic policy uncertainties and corporate announcements of closed periods.
During the week, four out of five trading sessions were bullish, resulting in the N409 billion gains, primarily driven by positive price movements in the Industrial goods index.
Most sectoral performances were positive, with all other indices finishing higher, except for NGX Consumer Goods, NGX Banking, NGX AFR Bank Value, NGX MERI Growth, and NGX Sovereign Bond, which depreciated by 0.16 percent, 0.78 percent, 0.94 percent, 0.32 percent, and 0.56 percent, respectively. The NGX Premium and NGX ASeM indices closed flat.
In terms of trade, over 1.470 billion shares worth N24.431 billion were traded in 29,683 deals by investors on the floor of the exchange, compared to 2.410 billion shares valued at N22.115 billion that exchanged hands the previous week in 27,965 deals.
The Financial Services Industry led the activity chart, contributing 63.25 percent and 53.00 percent to the total equity turnover volume and value, respectively.
The Healthcare Industry followed, contributing 19.97 percent and 20.50 percent to the total equity turnover volume and value, respectively.
The top three stocks for the week included Access Holdings Plc, Neimeth International Pharmaceutical Plc, and Fidelity Bank Plc, accounting for 34.21 percent and 17.96 percent of the total equity turnover volume and value, respectively.
Notable stocks with exceptional performance included BUA Cement, CHI Plc, Nigerian Breweries, and Dangote Sugar, with their share prices rising by 13 percent, 13 percent, 9 percent, and 7 percent, respectively.
On the downside, Prestige, Presco, Ecobank Transnational, and Sterling HoldCo were on the losers’ chart for the week, with their prices declining by 10 percent, 10 percent, 5 percent, and 5 percent, week-on-week, respectively.
Analysts at both Cowry Research and Arthur Stevens Assets Management project a week of mixed sentiments in the market, driven by both bargain hunting and portfolio repositioning.
Investors will closely watch the inflation figure for September, expected to be released by the National Bureau of Statistics, as well as the release of Q3 corporate earnings reports of listed companies.
During the past week, the Central Bank of Nigeria lifted the ban on forex provision for cement, milk, maize, and 40 other items, following an eight-year ban.
This development comes after Citigroup advised the apex bank to lift the ban to boost liquidity in the forex market.