The Nigerian domestic equity market sustained its bullish momentum this week, driven by strong gains in MTNN (+5.5%), SEPLAT (+8.6%), FIRSTHOLDCO (+12.3%), TRANSCORP (+9.3%), and NESTLE (+10.0%). The All-Share Index (ASI) closed higher by 2.4 per cent week-on-week at 166,154.55 points, extending year-to-date returns to +6.8 per cent.
Market activity remained robust, with a total turnover of 4.607 billion shares valued at N130.636 billion exchanged in 263,439 deals, compared with 4.164 billion shares worth N94.026 billion traded in 248,254 deals the previous week.
The Financial Services Industry led trading activity by volume, with 3.126 billion shares valued at N47.225 billion changing hands across 94,186 deals, contributing 67.84 per cent of total equity turnover volume and 36.15 per cent of total value. The Services Industry followed with 353.436 million shares worth N5.096 billion in 17,764 deals, while the ICT Industry recorded 277.263 million shares valued at N18.009 billion in 28,525 deals.
Top trades by volume included Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, Access Holdings Plc, and Linkage Assurance Plc, which collectively accounted for 1.406 billion shares valued at N9.735 billion in 11,732 deals. These three equities contributed 30.52 per cent to total turnover volume and 7.45 per cent to total value.
Looking ahead, market watchers expect bullish momentum to continue into the coming week, supported by early corporate earnings releases. However, intermittent profit-taking is anticipated as investors rebalance portfolios in response to evolving yield and liquidity conditions.
