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By Chukwuma Umeorah
Nigerian stocks continued their December rally last week, with the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) rising 1.63 per cent to close at 149,433.26 points, bringing the market closer to the 150,000 level.
The total value of all listed companies, or market capitalisation, also grew by 1.64 per cent to N95.26 trillion, adding N1.54 trillion to investors’ portfolios over the week. This pushed the year-to-date return on the market to 45.18 per cent, showing that investors remain confident even with somewhat slower trading.
Market activity was broadly positive, with 49 stocks gaining, 41 losing, and 57 remaining unchanged. The gains were largely driven by insurance, consumer goods, and select industrial stocks, while losses in banking and oil and gas sectors slightly tempered the overall upside.
Trading activity slowed when compared with the previous week, as total turnover declined by 33.91 per cent to 4.37 billion shares valued at N97.78 billion in 110,736 deals, from 6.62 billion shares worth N113.22 billion exchanged in 109,590 deals. The moderation in volume suggested a shift towards selective positioning rather than broad-based speculative trading.
The Financial Services Industry led trading by volume, accounting for 2.25 billion shares valued at N47.20 billion in 44,808 deals, representing about 51.49 per cent of total market volume. The Information and Communication Technology Industry followed with 1.12 billion shares worth N13.15 billion, while the Oil and Gas Industry recorded 233.89 million shares valued at N4.73 billion.
Trading in the shares of E-Tranzact International Plc, Access Holdings Plc and FCMB Group Plc dominated activity, jointly accounting for 1.92 billion shares valued at N22.22 billion, representing 43.93 per cent of total traded volume.
Sectoral performance was mixed. The NGX Insurance Index led gainers, rising by 3.40 per cent, followed by the NGX Consumer Goods Index, which advanced by 2.64 per cent. The NGX Industrial Goods Index posted a marginal gain of 0.23 per cent. On the downside, the NGX Banking Index declined by 0.12 per cent, the NGX Oil and Gas Index fell by 0.13 per cent, while the NGX Commodity Index shed 0.49 per cent.
On the gainers’ chart, Morison Industries Plc rose by 32.49 per cent to close at N4.69 per share, followed by Mecure Industries Plc, which gained 27.35 per cent to close at N37.95 per share. Japaul Gold and Ventures Plc appreciated by 26.67 per cent to close at N2.66 per share, while Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc added 17.24 per cent to close at N3.40 per share. P Z Cussons Nigeria Plc also advanced, gaining 16.19 per cent to close at N47.00 per share.
Other notable gainers included The Initiates Plc, which rose by 14.86 per cent to close at N12.75 per share, NPF Microfinance Bank Plc, which gained 13.14 per cent to close at N3.10 per share, and MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, which advanced by 12.98 per cent to close at N531.70 per share.
Conversely, Eterna Plc led the decliners, shedding 14.93 per cent to close at N30.20 per share, followed by UACN Plc, which declined by 14.26 per cent to close at N83.00 per share. E-Tranzact International Plc fell by 10.00 per cent to close at N12.60 per share, while Transcorp Hotels Plc dropped by 9.95 per cent to close at N155.60 per share. Chellarams Plc also declined, losing 9.90 per cent to close at N13.20 per share.
Despite the pullback in trading volumes, analysts note that the market’s upward trajectory remained intact, supported by continued rotation into selected fundamentally strong stocks ahead of expected year-end liquidity flows.
