The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) saw a significant increase in trading activity during the week, with investors exchanging 7.619 billion shares valued at N637.826 billion. This represents a 276.43 percent rise in trading volume and a 475.88 percent jump in transaction value compared to the preceding week. The Financial Services Industry dominated trading activity by volume, accounting for 6.990 billion shares valued at N573.492 billion in 85,998 deals.
The Financial Services Industry contributed 91.75 percent of total equity turnover volume and 89.91 percent of its value, highlighting the concentration of transactions in financial stocks. The Consumer Goods Industry followed with 164.650 million shares worth N7.201 billion, while the Services Industry ranked third, recording 93.278 million shares valued at N1.567 billion. This indicates that the Financial Services Industry played a major role in driving trading activity during the week.
Trading in the three most active equities by volume - First HoldCo Plc, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc, and United Bank for Africa Plc - accounted for 6.096 billion shares valued at N544.438 billion in 27,001 deals. Their combined transactions represented 80.02 percent of total equity turnover volume and 85.36 percent of turnover value. This concentration of trading in these three financial institutions further reinforced the dominance of the Financial Services Industry during the week.
On the performance front, the NGX All-Share Index and market capitalization appreciated by 2.86 percent to close at 254,299.49 points and N165.114 trillion, respectively. This represented a recovery from the previous week’s closing levels of 247,222.27 points and N160.519 trillion. The positive performance of the benchmark indicators was supported by an improvement in market breadth, with 33 equities appreciating in price, higher than the 20 recorded in the preceding week.
Meanwhile, 48 equities depreciated, down from 55 previously, while 65 remained unchanged, compared with 71 in the previous week. The figures indicate an improvement in investor sentiment, with more stocks recording gains and fewer declining during the period. However, the number of decliners remained higher than gainers, suggesting that the recovery was not evenly distributed across the market.
Sectoral performance was largely positive, as most indices closed higher. However, the NGX Main Board, NGX Consumer Goods, NGX Banking, NGX Insurance, NGX Growth, and NGX Commodity indices recorded declines of 0.11 percent, 1.70 percent, 3.42 percent, 2.13 percent, 1.02 percent, and 0.38 percent, respectively. The NGX Banking Index recorded the steepest decline among the listed sectoral indices, falling by 3.42 percent.
In terms of top gainers and losers, Dangote Cement Plc appreciated by 27.81 percent, Honeywell Flour Mills Plc gained 25.98 percent, and UPDC Real Estate Investment Trust rose by 20.57 percent. On the other hand, Caverton Offshore Support Group Plc fell by 25.00 percent, Livestock Feeds Plc declined by 21.99 percent, and Austin Laz & Company Plc shed 17.54 percent. Trading in the bond market also improved during the week, with 2.294 million units valued at N2.195 billion exchanged in 56 deals.
Key points
- The NGX All-Share Index appreciated by 2.86 percent to close at 254,299.49 points.
- The Financial Services Industry dominated trading activity by volume, accounting for 6.990 billion shares valued at N573.492 billion.
- The concentration of trading in a few financial equities and the weakness recorded in the banking index highlight differences between market activity and price performance.
