Nigeria’s Composite Index Gains 0.30%, Capitalisation Up N262bn As Banking, Consumer Goods Extend Bullish Momentum
Market Overview:
The Nigerian Exchange opened the new trading week on a positive note, sustaining the previous session’s momentum as bargain-hunting in key sectors lifted the market higher. The NGX All-Share Index advanced by 0.30 percent, adding 414.74 basis points to close at 139,394.75 points compared to 138,980.01bps in the previous session.
Market capitalization appreciated by N262.42bn to settle at N88.2tr, further strengthening the year-to-date return to 35.43 percent and reflecting renewed investor confidence despite a mixed macroeconomic environment.
Monday’s rally was driven largely by gains in the consumer goods, industrial, and banking sectors, with significant buying interest in PZ Cusson, which gained 10 percent, just as TRANSPOWER rose 9.60 percent, while DANGSUGAR leaped 9.09 percent, ahead of NASCON’s 7.62 percent. BERGER advanced 5.28 percent, while CADBURY, NAHCO, ZENITHBANK, OANDO and WEMABANK also closed higher. Market breadth remained positive, as 38 stocks recorded price appreciation, compared to 12 losers, a sign of healthy sentiment and accumulation across board. PZ Cusson and UPL led the day’s advancers while IMG, ENAMELWA, THOMASWY, and UNIONDICON topped the list of laggards. ETRANZACT stood out by hitting a fresh 52-week high at N11.30, underlining renewed interest in fintech and payment-related equities.
Market activity, however, moderated as total traded volume dropped by 47.89 percent to close at 947.87 million units, while market turnover stood at N17.97 billion, exchanged in 36,036 deals. FCMB dominated trading, contributing 48.63 percent of total volume with 460.95 million units and accounting for N4.74 billion or 26.35 percent of market value. UNIVINSURE and ROYALEX followed distantly in volume contribution, while ZENITHBANK and GTCO joined FCMB among the top traded stocks by value. The lower overall activity suggests that investors are taking more selective positions, focusing on fundamentally sound counters ahead of the release of Q3 earnings numbers.
The sectoral performance tilted positive as the banking index closed higher on gains in ZENITHBANK, WEMABANK, and ACCESSCORP, reflecting renewed appetite for tier-1 banking names. The consumer goods sector was the clear outperformer for the day, supported by strong rallies in PZ, DANGSUGAR, NASCON, and CADBURY. Industrial stocks also posted moderate gains driven by price appreciation in BERGER and a few mid-cap counters, while the insurance and oil and gas sectors closed mixed with profit-taking in some names offsetting selective accumulation in OANDO and a few other energy stocks.
From a technical standpoint, the NGXASI maintained its bullish posture, closing above its 20- and 50-day moving averages, signaling sustained buying momentum. Key momentum indicators, including the RSI and MFI, remain in the bullish zone, suggesting that there is still room for upside movement in the near term. Immediate resistance is now seen around 139,700 points, with a breakout likely to pave the way for a retest of the psychological 140,200 level. On the downside, support is expected around 138,500 points, and a breach of this level could trigger profit-taking in subsequent sessions.
Investor sentiment remains broadly positive, buoyed by attractive entry opportunities in fundamentally strong and dividend-paying stocks. The market is also seeing increased positioning by institutional and retail investors ahead of Q3 corporate earnings, which are expected to provide fresh catalysts for price movement. Going forward, we anticipate a mixed but slightly bullish pattern in the coming sessions as traders balance profit-taking with accumulation, while also tracking key macroeconomic data such as September inflation figures and policy signals from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
In the global commodities space, crude oil prices rebounded strongly on Monday after suffering sharp losses last week. Brent crude gained $1.13 or 1.7 percent to trade at $66.63 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose $1.02 or 1.7 percent to $62.89 per barrel. The modest production hike announced by OPEC+, which came in lower than market expectations, combined with concerns over the prospect of additional sanctions on Russian crude, helped stabilize market sentiment. This rebound in oil prices is a positive development for Nigeria’s fiscal position as it could support higher oil revenues and improve foreign exchange liquidity in the near term.
