The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) kicked off the week with solid momentum as investor confidence fueled a 0.62% surge in the All-Share Index (ASI), pushing it to 106,698.50 points. This upbeat performance added a significant N412.3 billion to the market capitalisation, which now stands at N67.06 trillion. The surge was driven by renewed buying interest across major sectors, indicating strong bullish sentiment to start the week.
Sector-wise, it was a mostly green day with five out of six indices closing positive. Consumer Goods stocks led the charge with a 2.90% gain, closely followed by Insurance (2.69%), Oil & Gas (2.58%), Commodities (1.59%), and Industrial Goods (0.07%). The Banking sector, however, dipped 1.62% as sell-offs in Tier-1 banks weighed on the index.
Investor appetite remained upbeat, as market breadth closed positive—35 gainers against 29 losers. Standout performers included BETAGLAS, which surged by 9.97% to N120.75, and TIP, which gained 9.90% to close at N5.44. Other top gainers like CADBURY, CAVERTON, and MULTIVERSE also posted impressive single-day increases nearing 10%.
On the flip side, some counters were hit by profit-taking. ECOBANK led the laggards, dropping 9.62% to N23.50. MEYER and CUSTODIAN also closed lower by 6.70% and 4.72% respectively. Despite these losses, trading volume remained robust, with 569.04 million shares exchanged in 18,612 deals, amounting to a value of N18.93 billion—highlighting persistent activity in heavyweight stocks.
Looking ahead, analysts at Futureview Research expect the bullish trend to continue through the week. However, they noted that the upcoming NTB Auction could temporarily draw liquidity away from equities. Still, investor focus appears to remain on undervalued, dividend-yielding stocks as a defensive play in the current market climate.
Source: The Sun