Stock Market Up N153bn on H1 Earnings Report Optimism 

Kayode  Tokede

The Nigerian stock market yesterday commenced the week on a positive note with a gain of N153 billion, reflecting sustained investor optimism over half year ended June 2025 corporate earnings of listed companies.

The Nigerian Exchange Limited All-Share Index (NGX ASI) gained 241.11  basis points or 0.18 per cent to close at 131,826.77 basis points with the Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date returns settled higher at +9.9per cent and +28.1per cent, respectively.

Also, market capitalisation rose by N153 billion to close at N83.394 trillion.

On sectors, performance was mixed as the NGX Industrial Goods Index (+1.5per cent) and NGX Consumer Goods Index (+0.1per cent) closed higher, while the NGX Insurance Index (-1.4per cent), NGX Banking  Index (-0.4per ceent), and NGX Oil & Gas Index (-0.1per cent ) declined.

Despite the upbeat performance, market breadth tilted negative, as 31 stocks advanced, while 44 declined. Cutix, International Energy Insurance and NCR Nigeria emerged the highest price gainer of 10 per cent each to close at N4.07, N2.20 and N7.26 respectively, per share.

The Initiates Plc (TIP) followed with a gain of 9.97 per cent to close at N11.03, while Caverton Offshore Support Group up by 9.75 per cent to close at N7.09, per share.

On the other side, Meyer led others on the losers’ chart with 10 per cent to close at N18.90, per share. McNichols followed with a decline of 9.95 per cent to close at N3.44, while Thomas Wyatt Nigeria declined by 9.84 per cent to close at N3.39, per share.

DEAP Capital Management & Trust lost 9.77 per cent to close at N1.20, while Sovereign Trust Insurance depreciated by 9.63 per cent to close at N1.22, per share.

The total volume traded decreased by 78.91 per cent to 706.039 million units, valued at N21.559 billion, and exchanged in 30,750 deals. Transactions in the shares of Access Holdings led the activity with 61.732 million shares worth N1.636 billion. Consolidated Hallmark Holdings followed with an account of 43.984 million shares valued at N133.777 million, while Chams Holding Company traded 38.662 million shares valued at N118.426 million.

United Bank for Africa (UBA) traded 32.888 million shares worth N1.504 billion, while Zenith Bank traded 24.604 million shares worth N1.728 billion.

Analysts at Futureview Group said that “the equities market is expected to trade slightly positive, supported by investor interest in undervalued stocks and anticipated strong earnings releases.

“However, gains may be tempered by cautious positioning ahead of the MPC meeting and a scheduled T-bills auction, which could redirect liquidity from equities. Overall, the NGX-ASI is likely to post a modest uptick.”