By Chukwuma Umeorah
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) closed the week ended 16 May 2025 in positive territory, with the All-Share Index gaining 0.90 per cent to settle at 109,710.37 points, driven by renewed investor optimism following a moderation in inflation and strong rallies in top-performing stocks.
The weekly market statistics showed that led the charge BETAGLASS Plc gaining 46.31 per cent to close at N235.05 from N160.65. Champion Breweries Plc followed with a 42.08 per cent rise to N6.82, while Caverton Offshore Support Group Plc gained 37.70 per cent to settle at N4.20.
Market sentiment was buoyed by fresh macroeconomic data showing a decline in headline inflation to 23.71 per cent in April, down from 24.23 per cent in March. Analysts suggests that the easing inflation has raised expectations of a potential interest rate cut by the Central Bank of Nigeria at its upcoming Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting.
“The Nigerian equities market ended the week on a positive note, buoyed by renewed investor confidence spurred by the ongoing dividend season and a softer inflation print,” Cowry Asset Management stated in their weekly review note.
“Looking ahead, we expect bullish momentum to persist into the coming week as investors continue to digest the implications of the inflation cooldown and position ahead of a possible interest rate cut by the CBN,” they added.
The market capitalization rose by N613.99 billion to close at N68.95 trillion, pushing the year-to-date (YtD) return to 6.59 per cent. Market breadth was strong, with 61 gainers compared to 31 losers, while 56 equities remained unchanged.
However, overall trading activity declined slightly. Weekly turnover fell to 2.606 billion shares valued at N63.785 billion in 77,593 deals, compared to 2.645 billion shares worth N77.005 billion exchanged the previous week.
The Financial Services sector led the volume chart with 1.54 billion shares worth N28.96 billion traded in 32,805 deals. Services and Consumer Goods followed, with 286.83 million shares and 202.57 million shares respectively.
In terms of volume and value, FCMB Group Plc, Access Holdings Plc, and Tantalizer Plc dominated trading, accounting for 600.68 million shares worth N6.57 billion in 7,201 deals. This represents 23.05 per cent and 10.30 per cent of total turnover respectively.
Sectoral performance was broadly positive. The NGX Consumer Goods Index led with a 4.08 per cent gain, followed by the Insurance Index at 2.47 per cent and the Banking Index at 1.19 per cent. Oil & Gas and Industrial Goods indices posted marginal increases of 0.66 per cent and 0.13 per cent respectively.
Other notable gainers during the week included FTN Cocoa adding 36.32 per cent, NNFM rose by 32.49 per cent, NPF Microfinance Bank by 32.31 per cent and May & Baker gained 25.74 per cent for the week under review.
On the losers’ chart, Multiverse Mining and Exploration Plc led with a 19.50 per cent decline, trailed by Union Dicon Salt losing 11.83 per cent while NAHCO shed 9.64 per cent.
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