Nigerian Stock Market Soars to 15-Year High with NGX ASI at 66,490.34

The Nigerian Exchange Limited’s All-Share Index (ASI) reached a remarkable milestone, closing at 66,490.34 basis points on Tuesday, marking its highest level in 15 years.

The ASI demonstrated a 0.51% increase from 66,151.38 points on Monday, surpassing the previous record of 66,371.20 achieved on March 5, 2008.

This achievement is partially attributed to a surge in buying interest within the banking sector, as investors strategically positioned themselves to capitalize on the recent robust earnings reported by banks.

In tandem with this surge, the market capitalization also rose by 0.51% to reach N39.69tn, in comparison to N36.21tn recorded on Monday.

In just two days of trading this week, investors gained a cumulative N510bn (N325bn on Monday and N185bn on Tuesday).

Among the sectoral indices, the NGX Banking Index experienced the most substantial daily gain, rising by 1.63%. The NGX Consumer Goods Index followed closely with a 0.99% increase, and the NGX Industrial Index saw a modest uptick of 0.21%. Conversely, the NGX Oil/Gas Index dipped by 0.09%, while the NGX Insurance Index experienced a notable decline of 1.56%. These shifts were largely influenced by investor reallocations.

A detailed analysis of Tuesday’s market activities revealed a significant surge in trade turnover compared to the previous session, with transaction values witnessing an impressive 79.18% increase. Consequently, the total volume of stocks traded amounted to 436.95 million units, valued at N7.02bn, across 7,933 deals. This marked a substantial rise from the 311.12 million units valued at N3.92bn traded in 7,193 deals on Monday.

FBN Holdings took the lead on the activity chart, trading 55.15 million units worth N911.21m. Japaul Gold closely followed with the sale of 33.11 million units worth N29.92m, while UBA transacted 30.17 million units valued at N41.21m.

Market breadth ended on a positive note, with 35 stocks gaining in value and 32 stocks depreciating. Champion Breweries stood out as the leader among gainers, with a 10% increase in stock value. On the other hand, Linkage Assurance led the group of 32 declining securities, witnessing a 10% decrease in equity value.

The robust performance of the stock market is attributed to a combination of factors, including investor sentiment influenced by macroeconomic developments, such as the establishment and swearing-in of the economic cabinet by President Bola Tinubu.

Furthermore, movements in yields within the fixed-income market played a pivotal role in shaping market dynamics. The emphasis on strategically positioning investments in fundamentally strong stocks is highlighted, especially given the ongoing challenges posed by the weak macroeconomic environment on corporate earnings.