The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) maintained its bullish trend on Thursday, July 17, 2025, with the All-Share Index (ASI) climbing 1.02% to a record 130,283.84 points. Market capitalisation surged by N833 billion to close at N82.41 trillion, marking a weekly gain of 6.8%, monthly rise of 11.56%, and 26.58% year-to-date. This rally reflects growing investor confidence fueled by shifting economic signals and a possible pivot in monetary policy.
Key drivers of the market rally were industrial giants BUA Cement and Dangote Cement, which gained 10% and 9.99% respectively, alongside renewed interest in dividend-paying stocks ahead of the half-year earnings season. Analysts noted that the recent rally stems from a rotation of funds from fixed income to equities, influenced by falling short-term interest rates and improving macroeconomic indicators.
A significant macroeconomic boost came from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which reported a decline in headline inflation to 22.22% in June, down from 22.97% in May. The slowdown, driven by falling fuel prices and base effects, has raised expectations of an imminent easing of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) monetary policy stance. The next Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting is expected to clarify this outlook.
Meanwhile, the NGX Industrial Index recorded a sharp 9.08% gain in a single day, pushing its year-to-date performance to 16.29%. However, not all sectors shared in the gains. The Oil & Gas Index dropped 0.61% on the day and is down 10.5% so far this year, as profit-taking persisted in that segment. Market breadth was negative overall, with 30 gainers against 46 losers.
In terms of trading activity, Access Holdings led the market by volume, trading 168 million shares. Other high-volume stocks included First Bank Holding Company, Zenith Bank, and Nigerian Breweries. Despite a 4% drop in trade volume, turnover rose 7% to N42.76 billion across 37,418 deals. Sectoral performance was mixed but generally positive, driven by optimism over incoming earnings reports from top financial and consumer goods firms.
Source: The Sun