Nigerian Stock Market Rebounds with N378 Billion Gain After Four-Day Slump

The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) staged an impressive recovery on Wednesday, snapping a four-day losing streak with a significant N378 billion gain. This bullish turnaround signals renewed investor confidence in Africa’s largest economy.

Market Indicators Show Strong Recovery

The NGX’s market capitalization surged by 0.5%, climbing from N75.801 trillion on Tuesday to N76.179 trillion at Wednesday’s close. This substantial increase reflects growing optimism among market participants.

Similarly, the All-Share Index (ASI) – the benchmark indicator of market performance – rose by 598.67 points (0.5%) to settle at 120,339.90, up from 119,741.23 recorded in the previous trading session.

Drivers of the Market Rally

The market upswing was fueled by renewed investor interest across multiple sectors, with notable gains in:

• Cileasing (+10% to N5.06)
• Cutix (+10% to N3.96)
• Ellah Lakes (+10% to N9.24)
• International Energy Insurance (+10% to N1.98)
• Omatek Ventures (+10% to 88k)

Market breadth closed decidedly positive, with 61 gainers outpacing 16 decliners – a nearly 4:1 ratio that underscores the session’s bullish sentiment.

Notable Decliners

While most stocks enjoyed gains, some companies faced selling pressure:

• Deap Capital (-9.09% to N1.00)
• John Holt (-5.41% to N7.00)
• Dangote Sugar (-5.32% to N44.50)
• Universal Insurance (-4.76% to 60k)
• Oando (-4.73% to N52.35)

Trading Activity Surges

Market activity showed remarkable improvement, with total volume and value traded increasing significantly:

• Volume traded: 1.05 billion shares (up from 527.1 million)
• Value traded: N12.17 billion (up from N11.28 billion)
• Total deals: 21,964 transactions (up from 21,546)

Most Active Stocks

Royal Exchange led trading activity with 218.7 million shares worth N229.11 million, followed by:

• Ja Paul Gold (174.1 million shares valued at N473.44 million)
• Ellah Lakes (83.5 million shares worth N762.23 million)
• Wema Bank (71.13 million shares valued at N1.1 billion)
• CHAMS (37.6 million shares worth N87.14 million)

Expert Analysis: Why the Market Rebounded

Mr. Aruna Kebira, Managing Director of Globalview Capital Ltd., provided insight into the market dynamics:

“The market has matured. The activities at the money market arena are revealing that the body language of the government is not more aggressive in borrowing. Rates are tanking, and there is a capital flight into the stock market. Liquidity is what is driving the prices up.”

Kebira noted that the current bullish run is being fueled by:

• Expectations of interim dividends
• Capital market activities from issuers
• Market liquidity

He predicted that the market would maintain its current trajectory until Q2 2025 results are released, at which point it would differentiate between strong and weak performers.

Source: Daily Nigerian