Bulls dominate as investors pocket N348.34bn gains on NGX

Onome Amuge

Nigerian equity investors witnessed a week of robust trading as market capitalisation on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) rose by N348.34 billion. This is as the benchmark index finished the week on a positive note, with market capitalisation increasing to N55.47 trillion from N55.12 trillion the previous week, marking a remarkable turnaround after the previous week’s N2.4 billion loss.

The Nigerian bourse recorded positive trading sessions in four out of five days of the week, a sign of renewed optimism in the market. The All-Share Index (ASI) also recorded a commendable 0.63 percent increase, closing the week at 96,579.54 points, up from the 95,973.45 points recorded the week prior.

Nigerian equities investors enjoyed a positive start to the week on Monday, August 26, 2024, as the market capitalisation increased by N36.67 billion.

The upward momentum continued into Tuesday, August 27, 2024, as investors recorded N271 billion gain by the end of trading.

The bulls’ domination of the Nigerian equities market was briefly interrupted on Wednesday, August 28, 2024, as investors recorded a loss of N176 billion by the end of the day’s trading session.

However, the uptrend resumed on Thursday, August 29, 2024, with investors recording N117 billion gain by the end of the trading session.

The Nigerian equities market finished the week on a strong note on Friday, August 30, 2024, as investors recorded a significant N98 billion gain by the end of the day’s trading session.

The positive performance of the market on the final day of the week solidified the overall bullish trend for the five-day trading period, underlining the resilient and optimistic spirit of Nigerian investors as they look to capitalise on opportunities and drive long-term growth in the equities market.

For the week, investors on the NGX traded a total of 2.821 billion shares valued at N53.048 billion across 50,488 transactions, representing a decrease in both volume and value of traded shares compared to the previous week where investors traded a larger volume of 5.641 billion shares worth N33.052 billion across 42,006 deals.

The financial services industry emerged as the most active industry on the NGX in terms of trading volume, with 1.857 billion shares valued at N15.825 billion traded across 19,937 deals.

The industry’s dominant performance contributed 65.82 percent of the total equity turnover volume and 29.83 percent of the total equity turnover value.

The oil and gas industry secured the second spot in terms of trading activity, recording 288.807 million shares valued at N11.302 billion across 9,365 deals.

The services industry also contributed significantly to the overall market activity, with 177.666 million shares valued at N437.174 million transacted across 3,604 deals, ranking third in the weekly volume and value charts.

Consolidated Hallmark Holdings Plc, Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc, and Access Holdings Plc were the three most actively traded equities during the week, accounting for 862.499 million shares valued at N3.795 billion across 3,511 deals. This level of activity contributed 30.57 percent of the total equity turnover volume and 7.15 percent of the total equity turnover value

Investors in Oando and DEAPCAP experienced significant share price gains for the week, with Oando recording the highest percentage increase of 60.71 percent, and DEAPCAP not far behind with a share price increase of 57.14 percent.

MCNICHOLS also recorded a notable share price increase of 56.57 percent, making it the third biggest gainer for the week in terms of percentage increase in share price.

On the other end of the spectrum, TRANSCORP led the decliners with a share price decrease of 9.99 percent, followed closely by MTNN with a share price drop of 9.91 percent. UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC also experienced a significant share price decline of 9.45 percent, rounding off the top three decliners in the Nigerian equities market for the  week.