The first full trading week of May extended the bull transition on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) for a third successive week amid the positive reaction to healthy corporate earnings inflow. This supported the benchmark All-Share Index as it broke out various psychological lines of 107,000, 108,000 and 109,000 to test 109,333.08 basis points before pulling back on formation of double top on the daily and weekly time frame, closing below its all-time high of 109,850.80bps level. Within the period,, the market witnessed profit taking on the last trading session of the week, amid buying interest in high cap stocks which pushed the market higher in the period under review. Also, there were price adjustments in Meyer Paints and Aradel Holdings for the dividend of 30 kobo and N22 per share each respectively declared by the directors, just as the share price of Golden Guinea Breweries was suspended for failure to submit its financial report without the board adducing any reason before the expiration of the deadline.
NGXASI Weekly Chart (Opening Chart)
Trading for the week started on a positive note, extending the previous gain and closing higher while breaking out the strong resistance level of 106,466.90bps. This trend and recovery were strengthened on Tuesday when the index recorded a 0.67% rally which signaled the markup phase that was sustained at midweek and Thursday, before turning bearish on Friday due to profit booking that led to a 0.46% decline by the composite Index. This resulted to a weekly gain of 2.54% which impacted largely on the Year-to-date return at 5.64%, as the key indicators settled at 108,733.40bps and N68.34tr respectively for the All-Share index and market capitalisation respectively.
Comparing the NGX Sectorial indexes YTD, theNGX-30 was up 5.36%, behind the Banking Index at 6.97%, just as the Premium Index rose by 7.14%, while the Pension Index returned 13.68%, following the 24.53% increase by the Consumer Goods Index. It was not all rosy, however, as the Industrial good, Insurance and Energy Indexes recorded a negative return of 4.70%. 8.53% and 9.87% respectively.
Market internals were positive as 68 stocks advanced, while 28 declined for the week under review.
Multiverse Plc Weekly Chart
Leading the top gainers chart was Multiverse Mining and Exploration Plc which rose from N6.35 to N10.00, gaining 57.48%; Academy Press Plc advanced from N2.87 to N4.32, up 50.52%; Beta Glass Plc increased from N109.80 to N160.65, gaining 46.31%; The Initiates Plc moved from N4.95 to N6.68, garnering a 34.95% return; and International Energy Insurance Plc climbed from N1.38 to N1.82, up 31.88%.
Abbey Mortgage Bank Weekly Chart
On the decliners chart is, Abbey Mortgage Bank Plc dropped from N8.30 to N7.00, losing 15.66% in the midst of profit taking. Meyer Plc fell from N9.25 to N8.00, down 13.51%; Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc declined slightly from N1.11 to N0.99, down 10.81%; VFD Group Plc slipped from N17.90 to N16.00, losing 10.61%; while Transcorp Power Plc decreased from N364.90 to N328.50, representing a 9.98% loss.
Economic View: The Nigerian Senate has approved two major tax reform bills—the Nigeria Revenue Service and Joint Revenue Board bills—while rejecting the proposed VAT hike to 10%, and instead retained the 7.5% rate, allowing VAT claims on fixed assets and overheads. A new 4% development levy will support key agencies, with TETFUND getting 50%. Two more tax bills are set for review soon to strengthen tax governance.
Meanwhile, Nigeria has fully repaid the $3.4bn IMF emergency loan taken in 2020 for COVID-19 relief according to the Federal Government. As of April 30, 2025, the debt was cleared, though the country will still pay about $30m annually in related charges. In 2024 alone, Nigeria spent $4.66bn servicing foreign debt.
Global View: Markets were cautiously optimistic Friday after a U.S.-UK trade deal hinted at possible progress in U.S.-China negotiations. However, President Trump rejected the idea of using the UK deal as a template and floated an 80% tariff on Chinese goods—lower than the current 145%. India proposed reducing its tariff gap with the U.S. from nearly 13% to below 4%, seeking exemption from present and future tariffs. Investors looked ahead to a key U.S.-China meeting in Geneva this weekend, fueling both caution and mild profit-taking.
The MSCI global index rose 0.11% to 846.80 but was down 0.3% for the week. In Europe, the STOXX 600 gained 0.44%, and Germany’s DAX climbed 0.63% to a record close. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 slipped 0.07% to 5,659.91 (down 0.5% for the week), the Dow dropped 0.29% to 41,249.38 (down 0.2%), while the Nasdaq edged up 0.78 points to 17,928.92 (down 0.3%).
Oil prices rose for the day and the week—U.S. crude gained 1.85% to $61.02 per barrel, and Brent added 1.7% to $63.91—marking their first weekly gain since mid-April. The dollar weakened slightly, helping gold rise 0.67% to $3,327.53 an ounce. Bitcoin gained 0.58% to $103,224.04, and Ethereum jumped 6.71% to $2,331.16. Treasury yields were steady ahead of trade talks, with the 10-year yield at 4.386%.
NGX Sectorial Index Weekly Charts Below
NGX Banking Index Chart
NGX Consumer Goods Index Chart
NGX Insurance Index Chart
NGX Industrial Goods Index Chart
NGX Oil & Gas Index Chart
NGX 30 Index Chart
