The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) ended the week on a strong note as renewed buying interest in ICT and banking stocks lifted the market by N2.44 trillion.
The All-Share Index rose by 2.45 per cent to close at 147,040.08 points, while market capitalisation increased by 2.67 per cent to N93.722 trillion. The strong performance reflected growing investor confidence and increased activity as the market heads towards the year-end.
Trading activity improved significantly during the week. A total of 6.617 billion shares valued at N113.224 billion were traded in 109,590 deals. This was higher than the 4.140 billion shares worth N115.889 billion traded in 102,351 deals in the previous week, showing increased market participation.
The ICT sector dominated trading by volume, recording 3.500 billion shares valued at N17.759 billion in 11,184 deals. This accounted for 52.89 per cent of total equity turnover volume and 15.68 per cent of total market value, as investors positioned heavily in technology-related stocks.
The financial services sector followed, with 2.625 billion shares worth N50.188 billion traded in 42,574 deals. The services sector placed third, recording 104.524 million shares valued at N1.166 billion across 7,255 deals.
Three stocks were responsible for most of the market activity. E-Tranzact International Plc, Cornerstone Insurance Plc, and Access Holdings Plc recorded a combined turnover of 4.871 billion shares worth N27.422 billion across 6,438 deals. These trades accounted for 73.60 per cent of total market volume and 24.22 per cent of total market value.
Market breadth was positive, indicating a healthy spread of gains. A total of 55 stocks appreciated in price during the week, compared to 38 in the previous week. Meanwhile, 29 stocks declined, down from 36 previously, while 63 stocks closed unchanged against 73 recorded earlier.
Sector performance was largely positive. The industrial goods index led gainers with a 7.38 per cent rise, while the premium index increased by 5.50 per cent. However, not all sectors closed in green, as the oil and gas index declined by 0.57 per cent, while the commodity index dipped by 0.30 per cent.
Trading on the exchange-traded products (ETPs) market also improved. Investors traded 411,382 units valued at N105.657 million in 1,022 deals, compared to 214,478 units worth N54.458 million in 761 deals the previous week. The most active ETPs by volume included VETINDETF with 96,978 units worth N5.79 million, VETGRIF30 with 82,739 units worth N5.13 million, and VETGOODS with 78,049 units worth N3.36 million. StanbicETF30 recorded the highest value traded at N82.45 million on 53,752 units.
The fixed income market also recorded stronger activity. Bond trading reached 410,186 units valued at N443.071 million across 54 deals, compared to 117,523 units worth N120.742 million in 38 deals a week earlier. This showed growing investor interest in safer, longer-term investment instruments.
Corporate actions also influenced market performance during the week. Ecobank Transnational Incorporated listed an additional 5,381,656,222 ordinary shares following the conversion of preference shares, employee stock option exercises, and loan conversions. This increased its total issued share capital to 23,731,207,437 ordinary shares of $0.025 each.
Industrial and Medical Gases Plc also listed 181,621,214 ordinary shares from its rights issue, bringing its total issued shares to 731,064,226. In addition, the Federal Government’s November 2025 savings bonds were admitted for trading. These included the FGS202702 two-year bond at 13.565 per cent valued at N958.416 million, and the FGS202803 three-year bond at 14.565 per cent valued at N2.874664 billion.
Champion Breweries Plc also opened its rights issue during the week. The offer involves 994,221,766 ordinary shares priced at N16.00 per share, on the basis of one new share for every nine shares held, and will close on 5 January 2026.
Analysts said the strong weekly gains were driven by year-end portfolio rebalancing and renewed investor confidence, with aggressive buying in ICT and banking stocks boosting both prices and volumes.
Looking ahead, analysts at Afrinvest said the market is likely to maintain its positive trend into December, supported by bargain hunting and recovery in key sectors. However, they warned that investors may engage in intermittent profit-taking and portfolio adjustments as the year draws to a close.
