The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) closed the week on a positive note, recording gains in key market indicators and increased trading activity, despite a shortened trading week due to the public holiday declared for Workers’ Day.
Over the four-day period, investors traded a total of 2.200 billion shares valued at ₦75.409bn in 70,329 deals. This represents a significant increase compared to the previous week’s turnover of 1.854 billion shares worth ₦56.025bn across 51,386 deals.
The market was closed on Thursday, May 1, following the Federal Government’s declaration of a public holiday to mark the 2025 Workers’ Day celebration.
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The NGX All-Share Index rose by 0.27 percent to close at 106,042.57 points, while the overall market capitalization appreciated by 0.28 percent to settle at ₦66.648tn.
The broader market sentiment was positive, with most sectoral indices closing in the green. However, select sectors recorded declines. These included the NGX Banking, Insurance, AFR Bank Value, MERI Value, Oil & Gas, Lotus II, Sovereign Bond, and Commodity indices, which all ended the week lower by varying margins.
The Financial Services sector remained the most active during the week, accounting for the largest share of turnover. A total of 1.432 billion shares worth ₦30.908bn were traded within this sector across 33,095 deals, representing 65.09 percent of the total volume and 40.99 percent of the total value.
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The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector followed with 230.248 million shares valued at ₦27.453bn in 4,811 deals. The Consumer Goods sector took third place, with 166.345 million shares worth ₦4.708bn exchanged in 8,284 deals.
Among the most traded equities by volume were Fidelity Bank Plc, Access Holdings Plc, and United Bank for Africa Plc. These three companies accounted for a combined 704.639 million shares valued at ₦16.757bn in 10,466 deals.
Their performance represented 32.03 percent of the total traded volume and 22.22 percent of the total market value for the week.
The market breadth showed a mixed performance. Fifty-two equities recorded price appreciation, which was lower than the sixty-four gainers recorded in the previous week.
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On the other hand, thirty-seven equities declined in price, rising from twenty-seven in the prior week. Meanwhile, fifty-nine equities remained unchanged, slightly higher than the fifty-seven recorded in the previous period.
Despite the mixed results across sectors and individual equities, the market’s overall performance indicates cautious optimism among investors, as attention continues to focus on macroeconomic signals and the ongoing release of corporate earnings.