Nigerian Equities Add N2.53 Trillion on Bank Rally

The Nigerian Exchange All Share Index rose 1.6% to close at 247,357.40 points for the week ended July 24. Market capitalization grew by N2.53 trillion to N159.59 trillion, pushing the year-to-date return to 58.96%.

Trading activity accelerated sharply, with 4.433 billion shares worth N306.143 billion changing hands. This represented a 57.28% increase in volume and a 67.59% jump in value compared to the prior week. Financial services dominated the session, accounting for 77.18% of total volume.

The banking sector drove the index advance, climbing 8.35% on sustained optimism ahead of the upcoming earnings season. First HoldCo was a primary catalyst, gaining 25.59% to close at N120.50 on the back of a recent record half-year profit announcement.

Consumer goods stocks rose 6.30% as investors accumulated Unilever Nigeria and Cadbury Nigeria following recent price corrections. However, the sector remained bifurcated, with Nestlé Nigeria and BUA Foods both posting maximum losses of 10%.

UPDC REIT was the week's top performer, jumping 33.33% to N14.20 on renewed demand for high-yielding real estate instruments. The industrial goods sector also contributed, rising 5.01% on a 17.56% gain in BUA Cement.

Profit-taking impacted select large-cap names, with Presco shedding 10% to N2,070.00 and Mecure Industries plunging 26.97%. The exchange suspended trading in Aluminium Extrusion Plc for failing to file its 2025 audited financial statements. Meanwhile, Linkage Assurance listed 12.32 billion new ordinary shares following a rights issue, increasing its total issued shares to 30.8 billion.

Analysts at Cowry Asset Management Limited forecast that the market will maintain its positive trajectory. They expect banking and industrial stocks to lead, driven by corporate earnings releases and investor reactions to macroeconomic and monetary policy developments in the coming weeks.