NGX Extends Bullish Momentum For Fourth Straight Week Ahead Of CBN Meeting

Editor
May 17, 2025
11:51 pm

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It was a bullish week on Nigeria’s equities market, despite opening negative. The negative start was short-lived on Tuesday when the benchmark NGX All-Share Index rebounded on positive momentum and buying interests in mid to highly capitalised stocks which resulted in a 0.46% gain. This trend was sustained for the rest of the week, bringing total gain to 0.90% in the period under review, while breaking out the strong psychological line of 109,000 basis points on a bullish sentiment and very high traded volume. Similarly, market capitalisation settled higher at N68.95tr, while the NGX All-Share Index closed at 109,710.37bps.

NGXASI Weekly Chart

Year-to-date, the general market index- the NGXASI has gained 6.59%, way behind the NGX Consumer Goods which is up by a princely 29.60%, an indication that more funds are chasing stocks in this sector, helped by the turnaround seen in their earnings performance and industry. The Banking Index has risen by 8.24%, behind the Pension Index at 14.94%; just as the NGX-30 is up 6.24%; whereas the NGX Energy recorded a 9.27% negative return, followed by Insurance and Industrial goods Indexes that declined to 6.27% and 4.6% respectively. This has, however, created new buying opportunities for discerning investors. In terms of market breadth during the week, 61 stocks advanced, while 31 declined.

Beta Glass Weekly Chart

Leading the top gainers chart is Beta Glass Plc, a Nigerian manufacturing company that specializes in the production of glass containers for the beverage, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics industries which rose from N160.65 to N235.05 per share (46.31% gain); Champion Breweries Plc’s share price grew from N4.80 to N6.82 (42.08% gain); Caverton Offshore Support Group, from N3.05 to N4.20 (37.70% gain); FTN Cocoa Processors Plc, from N1.90 to N2.59 (36.32% gain); and Northern Nigeria Flour Mills Plc, from N90.50 to N119.90 (32.49% gain).

Multiverse Mining Weekly Chart

On the decliners chart, Multiverse Mining and Exploration Plc, a Nigerian-based company specializing in the exploration, extraction, and processing of solid minerals, took the lead, with its share price sliding from N10.00 to N8.05 (19.50% loss); Union Dicon Salt Plc, from N8.45 to N7.45 (11.83% loss); Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc, from N83.00 to N75.00 (9.64% loss); University Press Plc, from N4.83 to N4.40 (8.90% loss); and Legend Internet Plc, from N9.00 to N8.40 (6.67% loss).

Trending in the Economy: Nigeria’s oil output fell by 4.37% in March to 1.401 million barrels per day, down from 1.465mbpd in February, according to the April report of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries. The report put Nigeria’s actual production output at 6.6% below her quota of 1.5mbpd, 32% short of the 2025 target of 2.06mbpd. Persistent challenges—under-investment, aging infrastructure, and oil theft—continue to constrain output, threatening fiscal stability amid falling oil prices and underscoring the urgent need for reforms.

In its latest review and projection on the Nigerian economy, the World Bank disclosed that the nation’s macroeconomic situation is improving due to a series of fiscal and monetary polices reforms. In particular, it noted CBN FX reforms, fiscal authority’s reforms and tightening monetary policy to checkmate inflation drove these improving macroeconomic position. The bank projected that Nigeria’s GDP could grow at an average of 3.6% between 2025 and 2027, up from 3.4% recorded in 2024, driven largely by services sector particularly financial and ICT sub-sector.

Nigeria’s inflation eased to 23.71% in April from 24.23% in March, according to the country’s statistics bureau. The decline follows a sharp drop earlier in the year after a base year update, though inflation remains elevated due to subsidy removal and Naira devaluation. Food and non-alcoholic beverages remain key drivers, with food inflation slightly down to 21.26% in April.

Global Market and Oil: U.S. stock indexes climbed on Friday, extending their rally for the fifth consecutive day, supported by a U.S.-China trade truce earlier in the week. The S&P 500 rose by 41.45 points, or 0.70%, to close at 5,958.38. The Dow gained 331.99 points, or 0.78%, ending at 42,654.74, and the Nasdaq rose by 98.78 points, or 0.52%, closing at 19,211.10. All three indexes posted weekly gains of 5.3%, 7.2%, and 3.4%, respectively, despite weaker consumer sentiment and rising inflation expectations.

The University of Michigan’s latest survey showed a further decline in consumer sentiment, while one-year inflation expectations surged to 7.3%. However, investors remained optimistic, overlooking the data. After-hours trading saw ETFs tracking the S&P 500 and Nasdaq fall 1% following Moody’s downgrade of the U.S. credit rating.

Among sectors, healthcare was the top performer, up 1.96%, with United Health leading the gainers, rising 6.4%. Energy was the only sector to decline. Applied Materials dropped 5.3% after missing revenue expectations, while Charter Communications rose 1.8% after announcing a $21.9B deal for Cox Communications. Verizon gained 1.7% following approval of its $20B acquisition of Frontier Communications. Market breadth was positive, with advancing stocks outpacing decliners on both the NYSE and Nasdaq. Total trading volume was 17.61 billion shares, slightly above the recent average.

Oil prices rose on Friday, marking a second weekly gain amid easing U.S.-China trade tensions, though gains were capped by anticipated supply increases from Iran and OPEC+.

Brent crude climbed 88 cents to $65.41, and WTI rose 87 cents to $62.49, up 1% and 2.4% for the week, respectively.

Sectorial Indexes Charts Below

NGX Banking Index Weekly Chart