Equities trading on the Nigerian Exchange Limited last week exhibited a strong investor sentiment as it recorded gains in four out of the five trading sessions during the week.
The market was lifted by strong interest in AIRTELAFRI (+10.0%) as investors reacted positively to the ongoing USD10.00 million share buy-back programme.
Further support came from gains in BUAFOODS (+5.3%), MTNN (+3.7%) and TRANSCOHOT (+6.5%).
As a result, the market benchmark index, All-Share Index, showed steady growth over the week, rising from 109,028.62 points on May 23 to 111,742.01 points on May 30, marking a solid 2.49% increase week to date.
This reflects positive investor sentiment over the week despite a slight dip on the final trading day.
On a week-on-week analysis, investors gained N1.711 trillion as the market capitalisation grew to N70.46 trillion on Friday, May 30, 2025 up from N68.75 trillion reported on Friday, May 23, 2025.
However, analysis of the last trading session of the week showed that the market turned slightly bearish, with the NGXASI declining by 0.07% to close at 111,742.01 points. Market capitalisation shrank marginally by N47.97m to N70.46trn.
Despite this, the month closed positively with a 5.65% gain, signaling overall strength in the market.
Sector-wise, consumer goods led WTD gains with a 3.78% rise, followed by banking (0.66%), insurance (1.02%), and industrials (0.35%). Oil and Gas remained the laggard, falling 2.05% WTD, indicating sector-specific challenges.
Trading volumes and value surged notably on the final day, with volume jumping 241.61% and transaction value up 273.64%. This spike was largely driven by concentrated activity in UBA, which dominated the volume chart for the second straight session, accounting for 74.43% of total market volume by trading 1.41bn units, highlighting focused investor interest in select stocks despite broader market weakness.
Sectoral indices all posted declines on the day, led by Oil and Gas, down 0.90%, pressured by heavy losses in CONOIL (-9.99%), JAPAULGOLD (-2.50%), and OANDO (-5.83%). Consumer goods and insurance sectors also weakened by 0.49% and 0.41%, respectively, driven by key stock declines. Banking dipped 0.36% despite gains in ZENITHBANK (+1.03%) and ETI (+4.82%), weighed down by losses in STERLINGNG, FIRSTHOLDCO, and GTCO. Market breadth softened to 0.73x, and the Up/Down ratio fell to 1.67, signalling mild bearish sentiment.
While the overall market showed resilience with strong monthly gains and increased trading activity, the closing session’s decline and sector-wide losses reflect cautious investor sentiment.
Focus remains on high-liquidity stocks like UBA, which continue to attract investor interest. Going forward, sustaining the positive momentum will depend on broader sector recovery and investor confidence, particularly in Oil & Gas and Consumer Goods sectors.
NASD summary
The NASD Over-the-Counter market continued its positive streak, rising modestly by 0.10% to close at 3,248.0 points.
This brought the week-to-date gain to a solid 1.86%, supported by notable price increases in SDAFRILAND and SDGEFLUID, both up 10%. Market capitalization also grew by 0.10% to N1.9trn, reflecting steady investor confidence in the OTC space.
Despite the price gains, trading activity sharply declined on the final session, with volume down 92.76%, value of transactions dropping 86.04%, and the number of trades falling 47.37%. This indicates lower liquidity and reduced market participation despite positive price movements, suggesting cautious investor behaviour or a concentration of trading in fewer, larger transactions.
Transaction in NGX declines by 56.8%
Based on the data from the Domestic and Foreign Portfolio Report of the Nigerian Exchange, total transactions in the NGX declined significantly by 56.8% m/m to N482.04 billion in April (March: N1.12 trillion).
The performance was due to the normalisation of inflows from foreign sources, which were primarily boosted by block trade transactions in the previous month. Specifically, inflows from foreign investors (13.1% of gross transactions) dipped by 91.0% m/m to N63.07 billion in April (March: N699.89 billion).
On the other hand, inflows from domestic investors (86.9% of gross transactions) marginally increased by 0.8% m/m to NGN418.97 billion (March: N415.62 billion) due to a rise in transactions from institutional (+8.8% m/m) amid a decline in transactions from retail investors (-8.0% m/m).
Net flows turned positive in April at NGN5.74 billion (March: -NGN3.67 billion), driven by strong net domestic inflows of NGN15.53 billion that outweighed net foreign outflows of NGN9.79 billion.
Global markets
Global equities remained positive following gains at the top of the week from the postponement of the 50.0% tariffs on the EU announced last week, and Nvidia’s positive earnings.
In line with this, US stocks (DJIA: +1.5% and S&P 500: +1.9%) are set to close the week higher even as sentiments weakened in the last trading session following a fresh wave of tariff uncertainty.
Elsewhere, European equities (STOXX Europe: +0.9% and FTSE 100: +0.6%) were lifted by renewed hopes for a US-EU trade deal following President Trump’s decision to delay the planned 50.0% tariff on EU imports.
A rebound in consumer confidence in May, after five consecutive months of decline, also supported sentiments.
Asian markets (Nikkei 225: +2.2%; SSE: 0.0%) posted mixed performances, with Japanese stocks advancing on a weaker yen and strong global tech earnings, while Chinese equities were flat as optimism over policy support was offset by renewed US-China trade tensions.
On a broader note, the Emerging Market (MSCI EM: -0.1%) index slipped, dragged by the decline in India (-0.3%). Conversely, the Frontier Market (MSCI FM: +1.2%) index outperformed rising on the back of notable gains in Vietnam (+1.4%) and Romania (+3.3%).