The Nigerian stock market rebounded strongly last week as investors gained N9.34tn, reversing the losses recorded in the previous week.
The Nigerian Exchange Limited recorded a bullish performance after shedding more than N1.8tn a week earlier following sustained sell-offs that began in the last week of June.
Market capitalisation rose by N9.342tn to close at N156.444tn, up from N147.102tn recorded the previous week.
Similarly, the All-Share Index climbed by 6.4 per cent to 243,798.76 basis points from 229,240.34 points, reflecting renewed investor confidence.
The rally was driven by gains in major blue-chip stocks, including Dangote Cement, which appreciated by 17.51 per cent, Airtel Africa by 10 per cent, MTN Nigeria by eight per cent and Aradel Holdings by 19.67 per cent.
As a result, the market’s year-to-date return improved to 56.8 per cent.
Analysts attributed the market’s impressive performance to increased buying interest in fundamentally strong large- and medium-cap stocks.
According to them, investors continued to rotate funds into quality equities despite growing geopolitical tensions and uncertainties in the global economy.
“The sustained inflow into blue-chip stocks reflects strong investor confidence in the Nigerian equities market despite external economic headwinds,” market analysts said.
Trading activity also remained robust during the week.
Investors traded a total of 3.648 billion shares worth N220.568bn in 251,861 deals, compared with 3.821 billion shares valued at N154.393bn exchanged in 258,567 deals in the preceding week.
The Financial Services sector dominated trading activity, accounting for 2.899 billion shares worth N147.360bn in 106,603 deals.
The sector contributed 79.48 per cent of the total trading volume and 66.81 per cent of the value of equities traded during the week, maintaining its position as the most active segment of the market.
