The Nigerian equities market closed the week ended May 2, 2025, on a positive note, posting a +1.41% week to date gain in the NGX All-Share Index to settle at 106,042.57 points, rebounding from midweek losses and reflecting renewed investor optimism following the Workers’ Day holiday.
This recovery, marked by a N151.91 billion increase in market capitalization to N66.65 trillion, was supported by improved sentiment and selective buying interest across large-cap stocks.
Despite two consecutive sessions of decline (Apr 29–30), the market regained momentum on May 2 with a modest +0.23% daily gain, supported by heightened activity as volume surged +45.89%, value traded rose +19.59%, and trades advanced +5.91%.
However, a market breadth of 0.73 suggests that decliners still outnumbered gainers, underscoring a cautious yet resilient investor stance amid mixed sector performance.
The rebound was underpinned by strong interest in Consumer and Industrial Goods sectors, with CADBURY and NAHCO hitting the 10% daily ceiling, complemented by advances in PRESCO and MTN Nigeria. Consumer Goods rose 2.03%, buoyed by INTBREW (+8.40%) and NB (+6.98%), while Industrial Goods edged up 0.08%, led by BETAGLAS (+9.96%) and BERGER (+9.80%).
The Insurance (-3.50%) and Banking (-1.49%) sectors extended losses amid persistent sell pressure. Notable decliners included ETI (-9.72%), MANSARD (-8.78%), and ACCESSCORP (-2.67%).
Oil & Gas (-0.17%) also weakened, weighed down by ETERNA (-9.91%) and JAPAULGOLD (-7.48%), reflecting risk-off sentiment in cyclical names.
Total market turnover stood at 573.33 million units, led by ACCESSCORP (52.81 million units) despite its price decline.
GTCO dominated the value chart with N2.05 billion in trades, though its price dipped by 2.14%, highlighting cautious positioning even in high-liquidity names.
NASD OTC
NASD OTC Market Index and Capitalization rose 0.26% Day-on-Day, supported by gains in SDAFRILAND (+8.63%) and SDFCWAMCO (+4.75%), despite a sharp decline in trade value (-45.73%) and number of trades (-64.44%).
Volume surged 175.38% to 8.49 million units, suggesting strong investor interest even as overall transaction value dropped significantly.
Analysts set First Holdco target price at N41.75 after earnings bump.
Meanwhile, analysts at investment firm AAG Capital Limited have set a N41.75 target price for First Holdco Plc, reflecting more than 63% upside potential at the equities market reference price of N24.80.
First HoldCo’s unaudited Q1 2025 results showed a strong performance, with interest income rising 40.2% year-on-year to N625.3 billion, driven by the sustained high-yield environment.
Net loans and advances to customers increased by 4.95% compared to 2024, while interest expense also rose moderately by 18.6% year-on-year to N260.1 billion.
Details from the group’s unaudited financials showed that customer deposits grew by 0.6% over the same period. Overall, net interest income climbed 61% year-on-year to N365.2 billion, up from N226.3 billion in Q1 2024.
First Holdco’s net fee and commission income grew moderately, up 22.5% year-on-year to N64.1 billion, according to details from the group’s unaudited numbers.
Analysts at AAG Capital Limited said the main drivers of the year-on-year growth were strong growth in credit-related fees, custodian fees, funds transfer & intermediation fees, and letter of credit commission & fees.
Other Income—net gains on financial instruments held at fair value through profit or loss account – recorded a sharp decline to a loss of N47.8 billion from N288.8 billion income recorded in Q1 2024, thereby impacting non-interest income.
In Q1-2025, First Holdco non-interest income dropped by 60% to N104.1 billion from N260 billion in Q1 2024. FX gains came in at N80.48 billion (from FX trading income & revaluation gains). Operating Expenses (OPEX) grew moderately, up 16% year-on-year to N245.3 billion, despite a decision to yank off merchant bank business
The year-on-year growth in operating expenses, compared with a 3.9% year-on-year decline in total operating income, led to a significant deterioration in the bank’s cost-to-income ratio.
In the period, First Holdco’s cost-to-income ratio worsened to 52.3%, a significant spike of 900 basis points above 43.3% reported in Q1 2024. Reflecting the moderate asset quality challenge, analysts highlighted that the group’s total impairment charge declined by 11.6% to N37.25 billion in Q1 2025 from N41.93 billion in Q1 2024.
The reported loan impairment charge brought the Q1 2025 annualised cost of risk to 10.8%, according to analysts at AAG Capital Limited. Overall, First Holdco pretax profit declined by 20.4% year-on-year to N186.5 billion while profit after tax declined 17.9% year-on-year to N167.4 billion in Q1 2025.
Global market
Global equities sustained the bullish momentum from last week, buoyed by strong corporate earnings and key economic data releases across major economies, while ongoing trade negotiations remained in focus.
Accordingly, US equities (DJIA: +1.6%; S&P 500: +1.4%) were poised to end the week higher, supported by robust earnings from big tech firms, including Meta and Microsoft, which helped offset concerns stemming from the Q1-25 GDP contraction.
The market also reacted positively to President Trump’s indication of potential tariff agreements with India, Japan, and South Korea.
Similarly, European equities (STOXX Europe 600: +2.2%; FTSE 100: +1.7%) are set to close the week higher, as investors responded positively to a flurry of corporate earnings across the region.
Meanwhile, Asian markets were mixed as Japanese equities (Nikkei 225: +3.2%) advanced on the Bank of Japan’s policy decision and optimism over US-Japan trade talks, while Chinese equities (SSE: -0.5%) declined following (1) investors’ caution over Beijing’s stimulus trajectory, (2) uncertainty around US-China trade tensions, and (3) a sharper-than-expected decline in April manufacturing activity.
Elsewhere, the Emerging market (MSCI EM: +1.4%) index advanced, driven by gains in India (+1.8%), whereas the Frontier market (MSCI FM: -0.9%) index closed the week lower, weighed down by declines in Vietnam (-0.2%) and Romania (-0.9%).