The Nigerian stock market extended its festive season gains last week, adding a substantial N953.4 billion to investor portfolios despite a shortened pre-Christmas trading schedule. The sustained positive momentum underscores growing confidence as the year draws to a close.
Market Indices Reflect Broad-Based Growth
The benchmark All-Share Index (ASI) crossed a significant psychological threshold, advancing by 0.97 per cent week-on-week to close at 153,539.83 points. Mirroring this ascent, the total market capitalisation rose by 0.98 per cent to settle at N97.89 trillion. This performance has cemented 2025 as a robust year for equities, with the year-to-date return now standing at an impressive 49.17 per cent.
Market breadth remained firmly positive at 1.5x, indicating widespread buying interest. For the week, 44 gainers outpaced 30 losers, showcasing the broad-based nature of the advance. The rally was primarily fueled by renewed investor appetite for mid- and large-cap stocks, with notable activity in the consumer goods and banking sectors.
Sector Performance and Driving Forces
Sectoral analysis revealed a decisively positive tilt, with five out of six major indices closing in the green. The NGX Consumer Goods Index led the charge with a 3.34 per cent gain, closely followed by the NGX Banking Index, which appreciated by 2.93 per cent. The Industrial and Commodity indices also posted gains of 1.17 per cent and 0.05 per cent respectively, while the Oil and Gas index closed largely flat.
Key bellwether stocks such as Guinness Nigeria, Aluminium Extrusion, UBA, and BUA Cement were at the forefront of the rally. Their strong performance reinforced bullish sentiment and provided a solid foundation for the market's upward trajectory as portfolio managers engaged in strategic repositioning ahead of the year-end book closure.
Trading Activity and Analyst Outlook
As expected during a holiday-shortened week, trading activity metrics declined. Total volume traded dropped by 70.8 per cent week-on-week to 2.88 billion units, while the total value traded fell by 79.12 per cent to N63.86 billion. The number of deals executed also decreased by 36.6 per cent to 80,288 trades.
Despite the lower activity, analysts at Cowry Research noted the market's continued resilience, trading comfortably above key short- and medium-term moving averages. They indicated that momentum indicators, including relative strength and trend-following oscillators, continue to signal sustained buying interest, even with occasional profit-taking.
Looking ahead to the final trading sessions of 2025, Cowry Research expects the bullish sentiment to persist, albeit with a more cautious tone as profit-taking may temper sharp upward moves. The firm advises investors to focus on fundamentally sound stocks with clear earnings visibility and sustainable growth prospects in the evolving market environment.
