On Wednesday, the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) reached a landmark achievement as the All-Share Index (ASI) soared past 101,000 points for the first time in its history, marking a remarkable 3% increase for the day. This surge highlighted the strong performance of the market and the generally positive sentiment surrounding Nigeria’s equity sector.
Alongside this milestone, the market capitalization of listed companies jumped to an all-time high of N55.58 trillion, representing an impressive gain of N1.62 trillion. This increase reflects a positive shift in the overall value of companies on the exchange, underlining the healthy appetite for equities in the country.
However, despite the record-breaking rise in the ASI, trading volumes showed a notable decline. The volume dropped by 34.65%, from 747.51 million units to 488.49 million units, and trading value also fell by 50.6%, from N16.28 billion to N8.04 billion. This decrease suggests that, although market performance was strong, investor activity may have slowed down slightly after the surge, indicating a possible pullback in trading enthusiasm.
On the stock performance front, companies like WAPIC, BUACEMENT, and JAPAULGOLD saw significant gains, with shares rising by 10%, 9.98%, and 9.91%, respectively. These companies’ strong results reflect investor optimism and confidence in their respective sectors. On the other hand, NEM, CADBURY, and TIP saw declines, with their stocks falling by -10%, -9.96%, and -9.92%. The losses can be attributed to factors such as profit-taking, sector-specific issues, or broader market fluctuations.
TRANSCORP stood out as the most actively traded stock by volume, with 95.11 million units traded. In terms of trading value, TRANSCORP again led with N1.56 billion, followed by BUACEMENT, UBA, DANGCEM, and ZENITHBANK, marking them as some of the most popular and actively traded stocks of the day.
The market rally was predominantly fueled by large-cap stocks worth over N1 trillion, such as BUACEMENT, DANGCEM, ZENITHBANK, and GTCO. These companies performed well and attracted significant investor interest, driving the broader market upward.
However, the rally wasn’t without its setbacks. Stocks like UBA and ACCESSCORP saw price declines, of -0.33% and -1.22%, respectively. These decreases could be linked to profit-taking, reflecting that some investors might be cashing out after the recent price increases. Additionally, while stocks in the SWOOT category—AIRTELAFRI, MTNN, TRANSCOHOT, GEREGU, and SEPLAT—remained stable with no significant price changes, FBNH continued to struggle, seeing a further drop of 0.78%.
Despite the slight fluctuations in certain stocks, the overall market performance indicates a robust and dynamic Nigerian stock market, with strong investor confidence and growth potential.
