The Nigerian Equities market showed a bullish run last week, with the NGX ASI closing above 125,000 points. The market’s upward trend was primarily driven by increased activity in the insurance, consumer goods, and banking sectors.
As such, NGX ASI closed firmly by 4.26%, the highest weekly gain for the year, at 126,149.59 points from 120,989.66 points the previous week. Market capitalisation rose to N79.80trn while the year-to-date (YTD) return closed at 22.56%.
The Sectoral Index performed largely bullish last week, with the NGX Insurance Index climbing 13.83%, the NGX Banking Index increasing 12.49%, the NGX Industrial Goods Index advancing 2.94%, and the NGX Consumer Goods Index rising 2.18%. The NGX Oil and Gas Index declined 0.72%. As a result, market sentiment improved to 7.4x from 7.2x recorded previously.
Banking stocks remain top picks this week, with ACCESSCORP, FIRSTHOLDCO, FCMB, and ETI attracting multiple BUY ratings, supported by last week’s sector resilience. The Oil & Gas sector maintains positive momentum, with strong “Buy/Hold” ratings on ARADEL and SEPLAT, leveraging on the sector’s performance from the previous week, driven by crude oil price stability. Industrial Goods saw mild movements last week, but DANGCEM remains a favourite with BUY ratings across all Capital Market Operators (CMOs).
Consumer Goods was broadly negative with profit-taking on key counters. This week, selective accumulation is advised, with NESTLE and NB receiving “BUY/HOLD” recommendations despite a mixed sector outlook. The Insurance sector remains attractive as AIICO and NEM recorded positive recommendations, aligning with the sector’s modest uptrend last week on improved earnings expectations.
Capital Market Operators (CMOs) position this week shows a market in a wait-and-see mode with accumulation. However, Capital Bancorp and Afrinvest display a cautious approach, Meristem and Lead Capital display stronger optimism, particularly towards sectors like Banking and Oil & Gas. Analysts advise investors to align their picks with sectors with a “BUY” rating for stability and growth positioning (see Table 1 below).
Table 1:
Monday, 7th at 12:52 PM
