Despite a shortened trading week due to the Easter Monday holiday on April 21, 2025, investor appetite for blue-chip stocks remained strong, causing the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) market capitalisation to soar significantly by N956.7 billion in four trading days.

Following the release of full-year 2024 earnings reports, dividend announcements, and first quarter (Q1 2025) scorecards by listed firms, investors aggressively repositioned in financial and consumer goods stocks.

The all-share index (ASI) rose by 1.46 per cent week-on-week to close at 105,752.61 points, buoyed by robust buy-side activity, particularly in bellwether stocks. Market capitalisation surged by N965.7 billion over the four trading sessions, underscoring broad-based optimism.

The positive sentiment was further lifted by the listing by the introduction of Legend Internet Plc, which added 2 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each to the exchange. The new listing contributed about N11.28 billion to the market’s capitalisation at entry, reinforcing the positive momentum.

The strong performance also pushed the year-to-date (YTD) return to 2.75 per cent, reflecting a steady recovery from earlier market corrections. Market breadth was firmly positive, with 63 gainers against 27 losers, resulting in a healthy breadth ratio of 2.33x.

Trading activity was upbeat, with the total number of executed deals rising slightly by 0.45 per cent to 51,386. Total traded volume increased by 21.61 per cent to 1.85 billion units, while market turnover jumped by 30.27 per cent to N56.03 billion, highlighting renewed investor participation across key sectors.

Last week, the stock market closed largely bullish across sectors, with only a few pockets of weakness tempering the broad rally. The NGX consumer goods index outperformed all others, surging by 8.57 per cent week-on-week, buoyed by notable gains in International Breweries, NASCON, Ikeja Hotel, and Cadbury Nigeria.

The NGX Insurance index followed closely, advancing by 7.3 per cent as investors piled into names like NEM Insurance, Cornerstone Insurance and Lasaco Assurance.

Banking stocks also saw strong demand, with the NGX Banking Index rising 5.06 per cent, driven by buying interest in JAIZ Bank, Ecobank Transnational Inc. (ETI) and Access Corporation.

The NGX Commodity Index posted a marginal uptick of 0.04 per cent, reflecting cautious optimism in that segment.

On the downside, the NGX oil and gas and NGX Industrial Goods indices recorded losses, falling by 0.07 per cent and 3.43 per cent respectively.

The declines were largely attributed to profit-taking and weak sentiment around stocks such as John Holt, Dangote Cement, MRS Oil, Total Nigeria, Berger Paints and Chemical and Allied Products (CAP) Plc.

The financial services sector dominated trading activities on the Nigerian Exchange last week, leading the chart by volume with 1.266 billion shares valued at N29.4 billion, exchanged in 24,351 deals.

This performance accounted for 68.28 per cent of the total equity turnover volume and 52.48 per cent of the total value.

Following closely was the ICT sector, which recorded 136.707 million shares worth N12.472 billion traded across 2,974 deals. The consumer goods sector ranked third, with a turnover of 118.617 million shares valued at N4.415 billion in 5,869 deals.

Fidelity Bank Plc, Access Holdings Plc, and Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc emerged as the most traded stocks by volume, collectively accounting for 797.873 million shares worth N22.043 billion in 8,618 deals. These three equities alone contributed 43.03 per cent and 39.34 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value, respectively.

Looking ahead, market analysts at Cowry Asset Management Limited expect the bullish sentiment that characterised last week’s trading to spill over into the coming week, fuelled largely by investors’ continued positive reactions to the ongoing release of corporate earnings.

According to them, as companies unveil their first quarter (Q1 2025) results, attention is set to remain firmly on firms that demonstrate strong fundamentals, resilient earnings growth, and attractive dividend policies.
The equities market will likely remain fundamentally driven, with dividend-paying stocks and companies delivering robust Q1 performances expected to attract the most investor interest.

However, amid the optimism, the analysts advised that investors remain selective and focused on quality stocks, given that macroeconomic uncertainties and intermittent profit-taking could moderate gains, particularly in some sectors that have witnessed sharp price appreciation in recent weeks.

Codros Capital, in its outlook, noted: “Given the ongoing Q1-2025 earnings season, we anticipate that decent earnings releases across the board will underpin positive sentiment in the equities market. In the medium term, however, investor sentiment will likely be shaped by broader macroeconomic developments and the direction of yields in the fixed income market.”

Similarly, analysts at Vetiva Dealings and Brokerage Limited highlighted the importance of the earnings season as the primary market catalyst in the immediate term.

“Earnings season will remain the key driver of market sentiment on Monday, as investors respond to fresh Q1’25 results. We expect continued interest in fundamentally strong names, though some profit-taking may set in following recent gains,” Vetiva stated.

Overall, while the near-term outlook remains broadly positive, the interplay between corporate performance, macroeconomic indicators, and movements in fixed-income yields will be critical in shaping market direction.