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By Chukwuma Umeorah
The Nigerian equities market began March on a positive trajectory as investors recorded an estimated N2.67 trillion gain in market value during the week, pushing the total market capitalisation of listed equities to about N126.43 trillion while the benchmark All-Share Index (ASI) advanced by 2.15 per cent to close at 196,968.15 points.
Data from the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) for the week ended March 6 showed that the performance marked a recovery from the previous week’s decline, reflecting renewed buying interest in selected stocks across major sectors of the market. The improvement also lifted the year-to-date return of the equities market to approximately 26.58 per cent, indicating sustained investor appetite for Nigerian stocks since the beginning of the year.
Despite the increase in the benchmark index and overall market capitalisation, the broader market sentiment remained mixed as more stocks declined in price than those that gained during the period under review. A total of 44 equities recorded price appreciation, while 58 equities closed lower and 46 remained unchanged.
Analysts at Cowry Asset Management said the market’s positive close was largely driven by renewed interest in fundamentally strong counters, although selective profit-taking across several stocks limited the breadth of the rally. The firm stated, “The Nigerian equities market closed the week on a positive note, recovering part of the losses recorded in the previous week as the NGX All-Share Index advanced by 2.15 per cent week-on-week.”
Trading activity, however, moderated compared with the previous week. Investors traded a total of 3.695 billion shares valued at N177.69 billion in 370,980 deals, compared with 5.494 billion shares worth N196.71 billion exchanged in the preceding week.
The Financial Services industry accounted for the largest share of market activity during the week, contributing about 66.14 per cent of total traded volume and 40.54 per cent of total value, with 2.444 billion shares valued at N72.03 billion traded in 145,628 deals.
The Oil and Gas sector followed with a turnover of 326.07 million shares valued at N39.51 billion in 36,458 deals, while the Services industry ranked third with 218.37 million shares worth N2.01 billion exchanged in 18,575 deals.
At the individual stock level, trading in three equities namely Jaiz Bank Plc, Fortis Global Insurance Plc and Access Holdings Plc accounted for 661.24 million shares valued at N8.06 billion in 38,534 deals, representing 17.9 per cent of total traded volume and 4.54 per cent of value during the week.
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Analysts expect the equities market to maintain a cautious upward bias in the near term as investors continue to position in fundamentally sound and undervalued stocks. According to Cowry Asset Management, “In the near term, we expect the domestic equities market to maintain a cautiously positive tone as investors continue to position in fundamentally sound and undervalued stocks following the recent rebound.”
The firm added that bargain hunting and selective accumulation in large-capitalisation stocks could continue to provide support for the benchmark index, although intermittent profit-taking and relatively subdued trading activity may moderate the pace of gains in the coming sessions.
Sectoral performance remained broadly positive, with most indices closing higher except for the insurance sector. The Oil and Gas index recorded the strongest gain, advancing by 9.43 per cent week-on-week, supported by increased buying interest in Aradel Holdings Plc and Oando Plc.
The Industrial Goods index also appreciated by 3.89 per cent during the week, reflecting improved investor interest in stocks such as Premier Paints Plc, Lafarge Africa Plc and Dangote Cement Plc. The Consumer Goods sector recorded a moderate increase of 1.12 per cent, while the Banking index posted a marginal gain of 0.24 per cent on the back of renewed demand for shares of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, Zenith Bank Plc and Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc.
In contrast, the Insurance index declined by 1.88 per cent during the period, reflecting continued selling pressure in stocks such as AXA Mansard Insurance Plc, Universal Insurance Plc and Cornerstone Insurance Plc.
Price movement across individual equities showed notable gains in several counters. Fortis Global Insurance Plc led the gainers’ chart with a 58.5 per cent increase in share price during the week. It was followed by Premier Paints Plc which rose by 32.7 per cent, while Eterna Plc advanced by 28.7 per cent.
Other notable gainers included Nigerian Exchange Group Plc, which rose by 21.7 per cent, and UACN Plc which gained 20.6 per cent, reflecting renewed investor demand in those stocks.
On the losers’ chart, McNichols Plc recorded the highest decline, shedding 24.4 per cent of its share price during the week. Mecure Industries Plc followed with a loss of 18.9 per cent, while Multiverse Mining and Exploration Plc declined by 18.7 per cent.
Other stocks that recorded notable declines included Jaiz Bank Plc which fell by 18.4 per cent, Omatek Ventures Plc which lost 15.4 per cent and Africa Prudential Plc which declined by 15.3 per cent amid profit-taking by investors.
The week also witnessed corporate developments in the equities segment. Fidson Healthcare Plc listed an additional 105,003,725 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each on the Daily Official List of the Nigerian Exchange under its Employee Share Scheme. Following the supplementary listing, the company’s issued and fully paid share capital increased from 2,294,996,275 shares to 2.4 billion shares.
