The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) began the week on a modestly positive note, as the All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 0.18% or 241.11 points to close at 131,826.77 on Monday, July 21, 2025. This slight upward movement reflects mixed investor sentiment across various sectors. Despite the cautious start to the week, the broader market has maintained a strong performance, with weekly, four-week, and year-to-date gains of 4.5%, 11.59%, and 28.08%, respectively. Market capitalisation settled at N83.4 trillion.
Trading activity, however, showed signs of a slowdown. Volume fell significantly by 68% to 706.04 million shares compared to the previous session, while turnover dropped by 46% to N21.56 billion. Interestingly, the number of deals increased by 8%, reaching 30,750. This divergence between reduced volume/value and increased deal count suggests fragmented investor participation or cautious portfolio rebalancing.
Market breadth tilted negative as 45 stocks declined against 31 that advanced. Nigeria Computer Society led the gainers with a 10% increase to N7.26. Other top performers included Cutix Plc, International Energy Insurance Plc, The Initiates Plc, Caverton Offshore Support Group Plc, and R.T. Briscoe Nigeria Plc, all posting near or above 9.7% gains. On the losing side, Meyer Plc topped the chart with a 10% drop, followed closely by McNichols Plc, Thomas Wyatt Nigeria Plc, and Deap Capital Management.
Access Holdings Plc led in trading volume with 61.73 million shares valued at N1.64 billion across 1,686 transactions. It was followed by Consolidated Hallmark Holdings Plc and Chams Holding Company Plc. United Bank for Africa Plc and Zenith Bank Plc rounded out the top five by volume. In terms of value, Presco Plc led the chart with N3.11 billion in turnover from just 2.34 million shares, suggesting high-value transactions.
Sectoral performance presented a mixed picture. The Industrial Goods Index led with a 1.5% gain, followed by the Main Board Index at 0.58%. Consumer Goods recorded a marginal 0.06% increase, while the Pension Index remained flat. On the downside, the Oil and Gas Index dipped slightly by 0.1%, highlighting the lack of broad-based market enthusiasm despite overall gains in the ASI.
Source: Punch