The Nigerian stock market staged a strong comeback last week, with investors’ portfolio value rising by ₦986 billion in five trading sessions, effectively ending a four-week losing streak.
Data from the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) showed that the All-Share Index (ASI) advanced by 1.2% week-on-week to close at 140,545.69 points, buoyed by price appreciation in key stocks.
Naija News reports that top gainers included WAPCO (+13.3%), Dangote Sugar (+9.1%), Zenith Bank (+4.8%), and UBA (+4.2%), which lifted overall market sentiment.
Market capitalisation equally rose to ₦88.922 trillion from ₦87.936 trillion the previous week, reflecting the net gains.
As a result, Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date returns improved to 0.3% and 36.7%, respectively.
Most sectoral indices closed higher, with the Oil & Gas Index and Insurance Index both up by 2.4%, Banking Index by 1.7%, Industrial Goods Index by 1.1%, and Consumer Goods Index by 1.0%.
However, trading activity slowed as both volume and value of transactions declined by 37.7% WoW and 39.5% WoW, respectively.
Market watchers at Cordros Capital predicted cautious sentiment in the new week, with attention shifting to economic data and policy decisions.
“Investor sentiment is expected to remain cautious, with portfolio flows skewed toward fundamentally justified stocks offering compelling entry opportunities. Market focus will also shift to the August inflation print, where evidence of sustained disinflation could reinforce expectations of a potential Monetary Policy Committee rate cut later this month,” the firm stated.
Similarly, analysts at InvestData Consulting Limited projected a mixed outlook, noting that portfolio rebalancing would continue ahead of third-quarter earnings.
“Looking ahead, market performance is expected to remain mixed in the coming week as investors continue to rebalance their portfolios. Bargain hunters are likely to take advantage of price pullbacks in fundamentally sound stocks, even as profit-taking persists in a few large-cap counters,” it noted.
They added that crude oil prices, earnings results, and macroeconomic developments will remain the key drivers of investor sentiment.
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