Activity on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange Limited cooled significantly last week as the market operated for only four trading days ahead of the Easter public holidays.
With the Federal Government declaring Friday and Monday as work-free days, investors appeared cautious. This led to a noticeable drop in market participation during the shortened trading week.
Total turnover fell to 2.856 billion shares valued at N113.597bn. This represents a sharp decline compared with the 3.950 billion shares worth N201.312bn traded in the previous full week.
Despite the slowdown in overall activity, the financial services sector remained the main driver of trading on the exchange. The sector accounted for more than 63 per cent of the total equity turnover.
Banking stocks led the charge, with strong activity recorded in Wema Bank and Access Holdings. The services and ICT sectors followed in second and third place respectively, although they remained far behind the banking sector in both volume and value of trades.
The week also witnessed major corporate actions and capital adjustments among listed firms. FCMB Group Plc and VFD Group Plc successfully listed billions of additional shares after completing a public offer and rights issue.
FCMB’s public offer recorded an impressive 144.89 per cent subscription rate, reflecting strong investor confidence despite the overall decline in market turnover.
Meanwhile, Universal Insurance Plc announced plans to join the capital-raising wave. The insurer submitted an application to raise funds through a rights issue of more than 2.6 billion ordinary shares.
Although the volume of shares traded declined, the market’s key indicators ended the week on a positive note. The NGX All-Share Index rose by 0.39 per cent to close at a historic 201,698.89 points. At the same time, the total market capitalisation climbed to N129.806tn.
However, market breadth remained weak beneath the headline gains. A total of 57 equities declined during the week, while only 29 stocks recorded price increases.
This imbalance suggests that the market rally was largely driven by a few heavyweight stocks. While large-cap companies helped push the index higher, many smaller equities faced downward pressure.
The NGX All-Share Index has been on a historic bull run in recent months. The index recently crossed the 200,000-point milestone and has recorded a 52-week gain of more than 90 per cent.
Analysts attribute the surge to improved foreign exchange liquidity and ongoing pro-market reforms that have boosted investor confidence.
The listing of FCMB’s 23.18 billion shares, which was heavily oversubscribed, along with Universal Insurance’s planned rights issue, reflects a broader industry-wide push by financial institutions to strengthen capital positions.
Despite the impressive headline performance, analysts note that the market remains “top-heavy”. Large-cap banking stocks such as Access Holdings and Wema Bank are driving most of the growth, while smaller firms in sectors like insurance and consumer goods continue to struggle with rising operating costs.
