Renewed interest across several blue-chip stocks lifted Nigeria’s equities market capitalisation by N985 billion last week, as investors returned decisively to the market after weeks of caution.

This resurgence on the Nigerian exchange not only reflected the underlying resilience of the market but also signalled a potential shift in sentiment, especially as institutional and retail players ramped up participation across key sectors.

The NGX All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 1.13 percent on a week-on-week basis, closing at 140,545.69 points, up from 138,980.01 points recorded the previous week.

This bullish momentum also pushed total market capitalisation to N88.92 trillion, marking a significant appreciation and lifting the year-to-date return to a solid 36.55 percent, a strong indicator of investor optimism despite ongoing macroeconomic headwinds.

Market activity also mirrored the upbeat mood. The number of executed deals increased by 12.8 per cent, closing the week at 132,841 transactions. Trade volume rose slightly by 2.36 percent to 3.19 billion units, while the value of traded equities jumped 10.54 percent to N99.70 billion.

These figures reflect heightened liquidity and growing appetite for large-cap stocks, particularly those considered stable, income-generating and fundamentally sound.

All six sectoral indices tracked by the exchange ended the week in positive territory, further underscoring the broad-based nature of the rally. The NGX Commodities Index led the pack with a 2.73 percent gain, driven by sustained demand for commodity-linked counters.

The Insurance Index followed with a 2.45 percent rise, fuelled by bargain hunting in low-priced but resilient insurance stocks.

The oil and gas index advanced by 2.38 percent, benefiting from recovering sentiment in downstream plays amid firming global oil prices.

Meanwhile, the banking Index notched a 1.68 percent gain, as investors returned to tier-one banking names after recent bouts of profit-taking.

The industrial goods Index rose by 1.13 percent, powered by demand in cement majors, while the consumer goods index rounded off the rally with a 0.98 percent uptick, reflecting moderate gains in food and beverage stocks.

Among individual equities, E-Tranzact emerged as the week’s top performer, soaring by 37.8 per cent. It was followed by NCR Nigeria, which jumped 31.6 percent, while Regal Insurance and Chellarams both posted strong gains of 26.7 percent. John Holt also joined the leaderboard with an 18.3 percent appreciation.

Conversely, Union Dicon Salt led the losers’ chart, shedding 19.0 percent, followed by Eterna Plc, which declined by 18.4 percent. Thomas Wyatt Nigeria fell by 16.3 percent, Enamelware dipped 12.6 percent, and UPDC Plc lost 11.1 percent, rounding out the top five laggards for the week.

In terms of sectoral activity, the Financial Services Industry once again dominated the market, accounting for 2.282 billion shares valued at N38.812 billion across 57,934 deals. This represented 71.6 per cent of the total trading volume and a similar share of value.

The consumer goods industry followed with 198.39 million shares worth N12.836 billion in 17,508 deals, while the oil and gas industry came third, with 186.74 million shares exchanged for N35.173 billion in 8,811 deals.

Among the most actively traded stocks, FCMB Group Plc, Access Holdings Plc and Universal Insurance Plc stood out, collectively accounting for 1.249 billion shares valued at N14.3 billion across 10,359 deals.

Together, these three stocks contributed 39.17 percent of the week’s total trading volume and 14.32 percent of total market value.

With bullish sentiment gaining momentum and key sectors attracting fresh inflows, the NGX is showing signs of a strong finish to the third quarter. However, market watchers caution that sustained performance will depend on macroeconomic stability, policy clarity, and global investor risk appetite in the coming weeks.

Analysts at Cowry Asset Management projected a cautiously bullish outlook for the Nigerian equities market in the upcoming trading week, citing sustained investor interest in bellwether stocks and improving liquidity conditions as key drivers of market momentum.

However, they warned that the overall mood remains mixed, with weak market breadth signalling that gains may be uneven and largely concentrated in select sectors.